Man accused of sexually assaulting 9 women in Kennewick stores

A 22-year-old man is accused of sexually assaulting nine women while they were shopping in busy Kennewick stores.

Investigators claim Maxwell M. Grady followed the women in the stores, then allegedly groped them, masturbated in front of them and, in some cases, put a combination of spit and hand sanitizer on them.

In one case, he used his phone to take a photo up a woman’s skirt, said court documents.

Grady, who’s been in the Franklin County jail serving a sentence on similar charges, is now charged in Benton County Superior Court with first-degree voyeurism, eight counts of fourth-degree assault and two counts of indecent exposure.

A $100,000 arrest warrant was issued for him to be brought to Kennewick when his Franklin County case is done.

He reportedly told Kennewick and Pasco detectives that he followed women in public places while taking videos and photos of them. He targeted crowded stores such as Walmart, TJ Maxx, Burlington, Goodwill and Dollar Tree.

Police found more than 20 videos on his phone showing him following women around while touching himself and also touching them when he passed by and, in some cases, smearing or throwing a liquid on them, court documents say.

Several of the videos show young children near the women, court documents said.

“The defendant told detectives that his actions were driven by lust and a lack of emotional and physical connection with his girlfriend, who lives in the Seattle area,” court documents said.

He told investigators he didn’t realize that it was against the law to masturbate in public.

His charges in Benton County stem from a series of incidents between Feb. 23 and March 8. His victims ranged between 18 and 58 who were shopping in stores in the Columbia Center Boulevard area of Kennewick.

The women shared similar descriptions of Grady’s alleged actions. Whenever he was confronted, he left the store quickly.

He was arrested in the Pasco Goodwill on March 8. Police said they then linked him to other reported sexual assaults across the river.

He also is charged in Walla Walla Superior Court with first-degree voyeurism after following a college student into a bathroom and recording her in July 2024. The woman allegedly confronted Grady and started recording him, and he fled.

An arrest warrant has been issued in Walla Walla, as well.