Stephen Vincent Grimmer, the brother of three-year-old Cheryl Grimmer who vanished from Fairy Meadow Beach in January 1970, is facing criminal charges over accusations he digitally raped a 14-year-old girl in 2016.
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Grimmer appeared in Nowra Local Court on Tuesday where he was committed to stand trial in the NSW District Court in Sydney on one count aggravated sexual assault of a child and four counts of indecent assault.
Fairfax Media can exclusively reveal the now-54-year-old from Mount Saint Thomas knew the alleged victim after their respective families began attending the same holiday spot on the NSW South Coast.
Court documents allege Grimmer’s behaviour towards the young girl changed during the Christmas school holidays in 2015, with the teen allegedly telling police the Bluescope Steel worker started acting “stupid” with her.
It is alleged he told her "I wish I was your age" and began isolating her from other children so they could spent time alone together.
Prosecutors will allege Grimmer’s actions towards the girl turned sexual during the 2016 Easter school holidays when he began inappropriately touching the teen and kissing her on the lips.
Grimmer is accused of putting his hand down the girl’s pants, inside her underwear and underneath her bra on a number of occasions.
The teen told police this happened “lots of times” and each time she would pull away from Grimmer and tell him to “go away”.
On one occasion between April 8 and April 25, 2016 Grimmer is alleged to have digitally raped the girl. She told police it was during this period that Grimmer “begged” her for sex.
Prosecution will allege the girl went on a fishing trip with Grimmer during the same holiday, and when they were a considerable way from shore, he claimed the boat had broken down and they were stuck.
During the three hour wait on the water, Grimmer allegedly tried to to "force himself” on the girl and told her not to tell anyone because he could “get in a lot of trouble”.
In a separate allegation, Grimmer is accused of putting the girl over his shoulder, carrying her to the bed in a caravan, putting his hand down her pants and telling the girl, "if you tell anyone I'll get into a lot of trouble."
In another encounter, Grimmer is alleged to have gotten “on top of the victim and pinned her arms down [with] her wrists above her head,” kissed her on the lips and said, "you can't tell anyone. If you let me do this I'll buy you something."
Court documents said the alleged assaults continued when the girl and her family returned to the caravan park again in the September school holidays.
The girl confided in a friend and the pair disclosed the alleged offending to adults, who confronted Grimmer about the accusations, prompting him to leave the caravan park.
Grimmer was arrested by the Child Abuse Squad detectives in April 2017, a month after a Victorian man was extradited to NSW and charged with murder over the 1970 disappearance and suspected murder of Grimmer’s sister Cheryl.
There is no suggestion Grimmer was responsible for his sister’s disappearance. He was only six-year-old at the time.
Grimmer and his brothers, Ricki and Paul, have attended each of the man’s court appearances since his arrest.
Meantime, Grimmer will next face court on his own charges on May 2 for a formal arraignment.