Police: Man repeatedly raped teen

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SHIRLEY — A teen told police she often lay motionless in her bed while a local man sexually assaulted her, praying silently until the abuse was over, according to court documents.

Steven R. Grogan, 36, 511 Main St., Shirley, faces charges of rape and battery after a teen came forward to tell police she’d been abused for years by the man who helped care for her, court documents state.

The girl told investigators “she would close her eyes and pray as it was happening and just try to get through it,” according to court documents charging Grogan with five assault-related allegations, including three Level 3 felony counts of rape and one Class B misdemeanor of battery, records show.

The victim said Grogan abused her regularly over the course of a year whenever they were alone together at his Shirley home, according to court records.

The abuse was both sexual and physical, she told police, reporting that Grogan forced her to engage in various sex acts and beat her if she resisted him, records state.

Police began investigating Grogan after series of reports were made to the Indiana Department of Child Services. The anonymous reports stated Grogan had been physically harming the girl, hitting her and then keeping her from school to hide the bruises and marks, court documents state.

Officers met with the girl to question her about the allegations against Grogan. During the interview, she detailed the sexual abuse she’d suffered as well, court documents state.

The girl told police Grogan sent her inappropriate messages to her using social media. She said Grogan once told her that “he was the only man she should have in her life and the only man she should love,” court documents state.

The girl told police she tried repeatedly to rebuff Grogan, even telling him that he should not be having a sexual relationship with someone her age, documents state. But Grogan would become angry and slap her or throw her around, court documents state.

When police spoke with Grogan about the girl’s allegations, he admitted to physically abusing the girl — saying he had slapped her in the past — but denied ever harming her sexually, records state.

Grogan was arrested last week and held in jail without bond while prosecutors mulled the charges he faced, records show. He appeared in court Monday morning to plead not guilty to the charges he faces, officials said.

He was ordered to be held in the Hancock County Jail without bond, records show.

Each of the Level 3 felony counts of rape Grogan faces carries a maximum penalty 16 years in prison; the Class B misdemeanor of battery Grogan faces carried a maximum penalty of 180 days behind bars.

Grogan also faces one Level 5 felony that carries a maximum penalty six years in prison.