NORTHAMPTON – Despite a bumbling apology by Robert D. Griswold to the families of his victims, a Superior Court judge sentenced the Granby man to 20-25 years in prison Thursday for a list of sex crimes involving three teenage boys.

On Wednesday, a jury found Griswold, 54, of 195 Taylor St. guilty of two counts each of child rape, dissemination of materials harmful to minors and improper storage of a firearm and single counts of indecent assault and battery on a child and enticement of a child under 16. The crimes took place at various times between May of 1997 and July of 2008 and involved three boys who were 12, 14 and 15 when Griswold knew them.

According to prosecutor Jane E. Mulqueen, Griswold lured the boys with drugs and pornography, gained their trust by appearing to take an interest in their hobbies and showered them with gifts. One victim, who was 15 when he was in Griswold’s company, testified that the relationship was consensual and said he felt it was unfair that Griswold be punished.

Noting that the witness was from a broken home and that Griswold had lavished presents and attention on him, Mulqueen said the boy was no less a victim than the others.

“(Griswold) manipulated him,” she told Judge Judd J. Carhart during her sentencing argument. “(Griswold) considered himself a teacher and a mentor to these boys. He took them at a vulnerable age. This man is a predator and he is a danger to society.”

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