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A police officer in charge of overseeing the state’s largest sex-offender registry has pleaded guilty in court to sexually assaulting a colleague in the workplace, with a magistrate describing his actions as “reprehensibly arrogant”.

Former detective sergeant Larry Noel Grimshaw, 63, pleaded guilty in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court to grabbing the woman as she bent over at a filing cabinet at Dandenong police station in 2018.

Larry Grimshaw leaving the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court. Credit: Joe Armao

At the time, Grimshaw was the officer in charge of Dandenong’s sexual offences and child investigation team, SOCIT – where he had worked for more than a decade – and was tasked with managing the area’s sex-offender registry.

In a victim impact statement – read out by Crown prosecutor Alexander Albert on the woman’s behalf – the woman said the crime had left her fearing plain-clothed police officers and rendered her unable to return to work as an officer.

She said she had initially kept the incident to herself, fearing she would lose her job if she reported the crime, before later disclosing what had occurred to family and work colleagues.

“I had previously felt so safe at my workplace. I liked my job and I was good at it. Once Larry assaulted me, I became scared and hurt. I was devastated because I trusted my supervisor and thought I would be safe at work,” she said.

Half a dozen police officers attended the hearing in support of the victim, filling the back row of the courtroom.Credit: Wayne Taylor

“I was terrified to go to work, which was previously such a joy. I grieve for my career and my life that I had before my assault.”

The court heard Grimshaw was originally charged with sexually assaulting another woman before two charges were withdrawn this week when he agreed to enter a guilty plea.

This, the court heard, spared witnesses the need to give evidence at trial in a higher court.

Court documents recently released to The Age show that as part of those original charges, Grimshaw was accused of indecently assaulting a woman at Glen Waverley in 2011, sexual assault at Dandenong in 2018, and again at Dandenong in 2020. The charges relating to allegations from 2011 and 2020 were dropped.

In 2018, the victim told investigators she had been walking over to a cabinet to look for a brief at the same time Grimshaw was walking back from the toilet. As he walked past the woman, he placed his hand on her buttocks.

The court heard that when the victim questioned Grimshaw, he appeared to quiver and kept walking.

At the time he was in a supervisory role and in charge of writing and authorising the work roster for all members in their unit.

Grimshaw, then a detective sergeant, was later interviewed over the allegation, where he gave a no-comment interview.

Defence lawyer Barnaby Johnson described the offending as “fleeting, momentary and opportunistic” and denied it was predatory or targeted.

Larry Grimshaw pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual assault.Credit: Joe Armao

He said Grimshaw had been a police officer for 43 years and resigned the month after he was stood down pending the outcome of the investigation.

“This was totally out of character for someone who has lived a blameless life,” Johnson said.

Magistrate Carolyn Burnside labelled Grimshaw’s behaviour as “reprehensibly arrogant” and questioned how a man with Grimshaw’s career experience could go on to commit the very crime his unit was tasked with investigating.

She said Grimshaw especially ought to have known how disempowered, demeaned and disrespected a person can feel when a crime such as this has been committed.

“You saw fit … to abuse your power and disregarded the consequences,” Burnside said.

“One wonders what the culture was like when you, as a superior member of SOCIT, thought that was fair enough.

“This in my view makes your decision to grab her buttocks in this brazen way all the more reprehensible and perverse.

“You sensibly retired in mid-January of 2021.”

Burnside also noted Grimshaw’s guilty plea was last-minute and questioned why it took more than a year for police to charge him after the victim’s complaint was made.

The court heard Grimshaw was stood down in December 2020 but not interviewed until July 2021 and not charged until July 2022.

In handing down her sentence, the magistrate praised the woman’s courage in reporting the abuse.

She also noted that half a dozen police officers attended the hearing in support of the victim, filling the back row of the courtroom.

“Often people in sex-assault cases still feel some way or another that it’s their fault. It wasn’t your fault, you were doing your job,” she said.

Burnside spared Grimshaw a conviction, instead ordering him to be of good behaviour for 12 months. He must also make a $5000 donation to a women’s charity.

If convicted, Grimshaw could have ended up on the very same sex-offender registry he once managed.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation said the Dandenong registry is the largest in the state with close to 440 people on the list.

As part of his retirement, Grimshaw now volunteers as a driver for the vision impaired one day a week.

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.

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