A former CNN producer has been sentenced to 19 years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl.
John Griffin of Stamford, Connecticut admitted in federal court last December to using interstate commerce to lure a 9-year-old girl into participating in illegal sexual activities at his ski residence in Vermont. He was handed a 19-year term in federal prison on Tuesday, with an extra 15 years of supervised release.
The 45-year-old former producer was fired from the network following his arrest.
He had worked at CNN for roughly eight years, where he served as a key member of the team working on the show hosted by former anchor Chris Cuomo. He also held the position of lead producer for CNN’s morning program at one point.
Per the plea deal, the former CNN producer initiated contact with a woman on a website during the summer of 2020 and persuaded her to accompany her young daughter to his ski home in Ludlow, Vermont. Griffin provided the woman with $3,000 for a flight from Nevada to Boston, where he personally picked them up and drove them to his $1.8 million home.
According to court documents that were recently unsealed, Griffin expressed his belief that the term “wanton whore” can be applied to any female at the core, and he made statements such as “a woman is a woman regardless of her age.” These messages were extracted from the indictment.
Griffin sent text messages to the mother of two daughters, aged 9 and 13, saying, “One of the big lies of this society is that women are delicate innocent angels and they are in actuality, naturally, the dirtiest sluts possible, in EVERY metric,” and “When handled appropriately, a woman is a woman regardless of her age,” pushing the mother to ensure that her 13-year-old daughter was “trained properly.”
According to court documents, the young girl subsequently came forward and disclosed that she had been sexually assaulted at the premises. As a result, Griffin was arrested on December 10, 2021, shortly after being indicted by a grand jury. He initially pleaded not guilty, but later accepted a plea deal.
According to ABC News, as part of the plea agreement in 2022, federal prosecutors decided to dismiss the two remaining charges of enticement of a minor against Griffin. Additionally, he has been mandated to provide restitution to the victims and is prohibited from having any contact with individuals under the age of 18, unless in the presence of an adult who has been authorized by a probation officer. Furthermore, Griffin is not allowed to enter locations where children gather, such as playgrounds, schools, and theme parks, unless given prior approval by a probation officer.
CNN might have a pedophile problem.
