Updated Saturday at 2:13 p.m.
A Connecticut man is facing federal charges in Vermont alleging he paid a parent to bring her daughter from Nevada to his residence in Ludlow before he forced the child into sex acts that he purported to be “sexual training.”
John Griffin, 44, of Stamford made an initial appearance in federal court in New Haven on Friday afternoon via video from a jail in Connecticut.
He faces charges stemming from an indictment in Vermont of three counts of “using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity.”
Griffin was arrested Friday morning in Connecticut and later in the afternoon was ordered by federal Judge Robert Spector to remain in custody pending a detention hearing in Vermont.
It was not clear at the hearing when Griffin would be brought to Vermont for that hearing.
Griffin’s attorney did not challenge the request by the prosecution that he stay in custody pending that hearing.
Griffin said little during the hearing other than replying to a series of questions from the judge about understanding his rights.
In June 2020, the indictment against him stated, Griffin transferred more than $3,000 to a mother of 9- and 13-year-old daughters to pay for plane tickets for the mother to fly from Nevada to Boston.
According to the indictment, Griffin had met the mother on an internet dating site affiliated with sexual kink and told the mother that “it’s your job, in concert with me, (to) see that (the 13-year-old) is trained properly.”
The next month, in July 2020, filings stated, the woman and her 9-year-old daughter flew to Boston where he picked them up in his Tesla and drove them to his residence in Ludlow.
“At that house, the daughter was directed to engage in, and did engage in, unlawful sexual activity,” according to prosecutors.
Also, according to the indictment, Griffin unsuccessfully tried to lure two other children online to engage in unlawful sexual acts via their parents under similar circumstances.
Griffin has worked at CNN since 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The Stamford (Conn.) Advocate reported Griffin had also worked as producer for Chris Cuomo’s show on the network and more recently as a producer for CNN senior political analyst John Avlon.
“We take the charges against Mr. Griffin incredibly seriously,” the Stamford Advocate reported that CNN spokesperson told Hearst Connecticut Media on Friday. “We only learned of his arrest this afternoon and have suspended him pending investigation.”
Prior to working at CNN, Griffin worked for ABC news, the Fox News Channel and CBS news, according to his LinkedIn page.
Griffin faces up to life in prison if convicted. Each of the three counts against him also carry 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentences.
Federal prosecutors are also seeking the forfeiture of Griffin’s Ludlow residence as well as his Tesla, a Mercedes and other property that was used in carrying out the charged offense.
