Ex-CNN producer gets more than 19 years in prison

John Griffin who, according to his LinkedIn profile, worked for eight years at CNN as a senior producer and worked closely with former lead anchor Chris Cuomo, pleaded guilty at a U.S. District Court Hearing in Vermont to luring a 9-year-old girl into illegal sexual acts and was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison, with an additional 15 years of supervised release.

According to court records, in 2020 Griffin had met a woman on a website, and persuaded her to bring her daughter to his ski home in Ludlow, Vermont for sexual activity. He had paid the woman $3,000 to fly to Boston, where he picked them up and drove them to his home where the girl said he had sexually assaulted her.

The mother of the 9-year-old was also charged with child abuse and child sexual assault.

Griffin was indicted by a grand jury in 2021, and arrested a day later. During his hearing, he told Judge William K. Sessions III that he had acted without considering the consequences.

According to the state’s attorney, Griffin had also attempted to entice two other minors into sexual activities using online apps. In April 2020, he had allegedly instructed a mother and her 14-year-old daughter to remove their clothing and touch each other in what he called a “virtual training session.”

However, as part of his plea deal, the two additional charges of enticement of a minor were dropped.

When he was arrested, the government seized his Ludlow property as well as his Tesla and Mercedes cars. His wife Allyson Griffin, filed for divorce and for custody of their three children and ownership of their Norwalk mansion, valued at $4.5 million.

David Kirby, Griffin’s attorney, had pleaded for a lighter sentence arguing that his client was going through difficulty in his marriage, along with cocaine and alcohol abuse.

However, Prosecutor Michael Drescher said that “short of ending a person’s life, it’s hard to imagine a worse offense,” adding that Griffin was a calculated manipulator.

As part of the plea deal, Griffin is forbidden to have contact with anyone under 18 years of age, except in the presence of an adult that is approved by his probation officer. He is also banned from playgrounds, schools, and theme parks along with any area that is frequented by minors unless permitted by his probation officer.

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