A North County man has been convicted on numerous charges of child molestation, the District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
On Jan. 26, a jury convicted Craig Anthony Grunow, 57, on 11 counts of sexual abuse of three children that occurred over a three-year period up in Heritage Ranch and he now faces several lifetimes in prison
Charges included one count of sexual intercourse with a child under 10, and 10 counts of committing a lewd act on a child under 14. He was also found guilty of committing lewd acts on multiple victims under 14, the release said, which is a special sentencing enhancement under the law.
Grunow’s crimes “occurred in the Heritage Ranch area of rural San Luis Obispo County between August 2018 and August 2021. Two of the young survivors were well known to the defendant and the third young survivor had been invited into the defendant’s home as a guest.” Heritage Ranch is a neighborhood of homes around Lake Nacimiento.
D.A. Dan Dow said, “We admire the profound strength of the three young survivors in disclosing these terrible crimes and in describing to the jury what they endured at the hands of this sexual predator. We thank the jury for carefully considering all the evidence in this very troubling and emotional case. Without their courage, there would be no justice.”
Grunow faces a maximum of 250-years to life in prison with sentencing scheduled for March 30 in Superior Court before Judge Covello. The case was investigated by the County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation and Child Abuse Interview Team. Deputy D.A. Danielle Baker, who is assigned to the District Attorney’s Sexual Violence Unit, was the prosecutor in Grunow’s case.
