Local

Man accused of raping boy, buying silence

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A Johnstown man has been jailed on charges he repeatedly raped a boy, then gave him gifts to keep quiet about the encounters.

Police said the boy, now a teenager, recently came forward to accuse 53-year-old Michael Grimm, and that he remembers when the incidents began because Grimm gave him a Sony PlayStation video game system at the time.

Grimm remained in the Cambria County Prison on Monday and faces a preliminary hearing Sept. 18.

Police said the incidents happened from 2005 to 2007, when the boy was no older than 7.

Police said the boy also told them Grimm gave him a dirt bike and sometimes hit him in the knee with a hammer or threatened him with a gun to keep quiet.