A former CNN producer has received a sentence of more than 19 years in prison after pleading guilty to the heinous act of luring a 9-year-old girl into engaging in illegal se*xual activities.
John Griffin, a resident of Stamford, Connecticut, admitted in federal court back in December that he had used interstate means to entice and coerce the young girl to partake in se*xual acts at his ski house in Vermont. During a hearing at the US District Court in Vermont on Tuesday, June 20, he was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison, with an additional 15 years of supervised release.
As part of a plea deal reached last December, the government dropped two other charges of enticing a minor against Griffin, who was 45 years old at the time of the incident. He has also been ordered to pay restitution to the victims, reported Daily Mail.
According to the plea deal, Griffin met a woman online during the summer of 2020 and subsequently persuaded her to bring her daughter to his ski home in Ludlow, Vermont, for se*xual activities. The initial connection between Griffin and the mother and daughter occurred through platforms such as Kik and Google Hangouts, as stated by federal prosecutors.
Griffin paid Heather Carriker and her nine-year-old daughter £3,350 to travel from Nevada to Boston, where he picked them up and drove them to the ski home, a distance of over 140 miles. It was at this location that the girl reported being se*xually assaulted by Griffin, according to court records.
Griffin was apprehended on December 10, 2021, the day after being indicted by a grand jury. Prosecutors revealed that Griffin had also interacted with other parents, including the father of a 14-year-old girl he sought to recruit. In a previous indictment, he allegedly informed the father that he had trained girls as young as seven and expressed his belief that his daughter would be a suitable candidate.
The indictment further disclosed disturbing language used by Griffin, including derogatory remarks about women and girls. He referred to them as “wanton wes” and denied the concept of innocence in females, deeming them to be the “dirtiest ss possible.”
Griffin’s sentence includes strict conditions, such as a prohibition on contact with individuals under the age of 18, unless in the presence of an adult approved by a probation officer. He is also restricted from entering areas where children congregate, such as schools, playgrounds, and theme parks, unless prior approval is obtained from the probation office.
CNN employed Griffin for approximately eight years, but he was terminated following his arrest, according to the network. Upon learning of the allegations, CNN described them as deeply disturbing.
