On Tuesday, a U.S. District Court judge in Vermont handed down a sentence of more than 19 years in prison and an additional 15 years of supervised release to a former CNN television producer who pleaded guilty to luring a 9-year-old girl under illegal conditions. sexual acts. In federal court in December, John Griffin of Stamford, Conn., pleaded guilty to using interstate commerce to induce and coerce the girl into engaging in sexual activity at his Vermont ski home. Griffin, who was 45 at the time, entered into a plea bargain in which the government dropped two of the three remaining counts of enticing a minor.
According to the AP, Griffin agreed to plead guilty after admitting he met a woman online in the summer of 2020 and convinced her to bring his daughter to his ski house in Ludlow, Vermont. for sexual activity. According to court documents, Griffin arranged for the woman and daughter to fly from Nevada to Boston, picked them up, and drove them to his home in Vermont, where he sexually assaulted the girl.
A grand jury indictment led to Griffin’s arrest the next day, Dec. 11, 2021. CNN says he worked there for about eight years before firing him following his arrest. After his release, he will be required to avoid contact with minors under the supervision of an adult probation officer.