Anne Arundel County Circuit Court

By Zak Failla From Daily Voice

A 66-year-old Maryland man will spend years in prison after violently assaulting his then-girlfriend and holding her captive, authorities announced.

Pasadena resident Robert Wallace Grim has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, with all but nine years suspended after pleading guilty to assaulting his girlfriend in August, according to the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors said that shortly after 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 4, officers from the Anne Arundel County Police Department were called to a home in the 7700 block of Queens Park Road in Pasadena to probe a previous assault.

The 45-year-old woman told officers she had been identified by her boyfriend — identified as Grim — the previous day at his home on Fox Court in Pasadena.

Investigators determined that a verbal argument between the two escalated, leading to a violent assault.

"(Grim) used two hands to strangle the victim for approximately three seconds," prosecutors said. "(He) then punched the (woman) in the face and used a wooden bed post to strike the victim multiple times, leading to multiple lacerations and bruising all over her body and blackening her eyes.

Grim also took the woman's phone to keep her from calling for help and held her captive in his home by blocking the door with a ladder until she was able to escape the following day.

“This was not only a terrible assault by the victim’s boyfriend, but what makes this particularly egregious is that he held the injured victim against her will for hours," State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said. "The defendant has shown no remorse or accountability for his actions." 

"This top-of-the-guidelines sentence addresses the need for significant prison time for protection for the victim.”

In addition to his prison term, a judge also ordered that Grim serve five years of supervised probation when he is released.