August 31, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Police: Explorer leader admitting having sex with underage girls

by Bill D'Agostino

While in police custody, the longtime leader of the Palo Alto Fire Explorers admitted to having sex with three underage girls in the program and wrote apologies to each, according to police reports on file in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

Tony Graham, 28, was arrested Aug. 5 on suspicion of molesting the three girls, ages 14-17, from August 2003 to July 2005.

Graham, who trained youth in CPR and first aid, told police investigators he and the girls had long-term relationships "just like any other couple," which included taking trips and staying in hotels together, according to the reports.

"Graham said that he has a problem and believes that he is bi-polar (sic) because one voice in his head says that it is wrong to sleep (with) underage girls and the other says that it is okay," noted one report, written by Palo Alto Police Agent Natasha Powers. "Graham said he knew this situation would happen to him because he spent too much of his time with the young girls in the program."

Police said Graham first admitted having sex with the three underage girls in a telephone call to one of the victims that officers taped.

According to the reports, Graham treated the girls to dinners, concerts and gifts such as CDs and bracelets. The girls reportedly gave officers some of those presents, along with love letters Graham wrote.

Two of the 15 counts against Graham accuse him of videotaping his sexual encounters with the girls, at times without their knowledge or consent. One girl told police she suspected he was videotaping their encounter because "he did something in the closet and then walked back to the bed," according to the report.

After investigators arrested Graham, they found DVDs of the sexual encounters in his home in Los Altos Hills.

"Graham told me that he is like any other guy and that he likes to view pornography and that he prefers young girls like all guys do," Powers wrote.

Investigators also reportedly took a book, titled "All About Me," where Graham listed his victims and the age discrepancy between him and them. Officers listed 85 items they gathered from Graham's home, including medical supplies such as Nitroglycerin tablets and Epinephrine he admitted stealing, pornography and audio CDs made for the girls, according to the reports.

The day before arresting him, police taped a telephone conversation between Graham and one of the three girls. During the call, Graham threatened to commit suicide if she turned him in.

"Dramatically he added that he carried a nitro pills (sic) in his pocket for that reason," the police report stated. "The victim quickly told him that she would not tell anyone. Once she convinced him of that fact he stopped his emotional outburst and said he was okay."

The police investigation began on Aug. 1, when one of Graham's alleged victims came forward, saying she had been sexually assaulted.

Graham, who was employed as an EMT with American Medical Response, was in court Aug. 19 for his arraignment. Dressed in a black suit, he was surrounded by family and friends. He nervously bit his fingernails and sucked on his hand while he sat and waited.

Outside the courtroom, his parents and his attorney, Peter Goldshneider, refused to comment.

Graham -- who was called a hero in 1994 after he helped fellow students when a student prank caused an explosion at Gunn -- is out on $200,000 bail. His next court date is Sept. 16 in Santa Clara County Superior Court, where he could enter a plea.

Graham, who started the Palo Alto Fire Explorers 10 years ago when he was a student at Gunn High School, is facing up to 12 years in prison.

The emergency response program, for youth 14 to 21, was supported by the Palo Alto Fire Department but is technically under the Pacific Skyline Council, Boy Scouts of America. Graham was the leader of the program off and on since returning from college at the University of Colorado in 1998.

Staff Writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com.

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