Ex-CNN producer takes plea deal in child sex crime

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John Griffin, a former senior producer for CNN who was charged with child sex offenses, entered a guilty plea in federal court after being indicted a year ago, AP reported.

As part of the accord, the federal government withdrew two of the three charges brought against Griffin. He "has agreed to forfeit a Tesla vehicle, and electronic items, and to donate half of the proceeds from the sale of his Vermont home and the upcoming sale of a Mercedes vehicle into the court registry," as per the report. He also "must pay full restitution to the victims, an amount which will be determined by the court."

Griffin, 45, is subject to a minimum 10-year sentence and a maximum $250k fine. He will be sentenced in March 2023.

According to a federal indictment, the Stamford, Connecticut resident forced parents to consent to their minor children having sex with him at his Vermont ski home when the girls were as young as seven years old.

A grand jury in Vermont initially accused the CNN veteran of "three charges of using an interstate commerce facility to attempt to attract juveniles to participate in criminal sexual behavior."

In a statement released in December of last year, the U.S. Attorney's office in Vermont claimed that Griffin "tried to persuade parents to enable him to train their daughters to be sexually submissive."

"Griffin later transferred over $3,000 to the mother for plane tickets so the mother and her 9-year-old daughter could fly from Nevada to Boston’s Logan airport. The mother and child flew to Boston in July of 2020, where Griffin picked them up in his Tesla and drove them to his Ludlow house. At the house, the daughter was directed to engage in, and did engage in, unlawful sexual activity," the US Attorney's Office in Vermont claimed. 

Griffin worked as a producer for the now-canceled "New Day" morning show on CNN. He had spent eight years working for the network. Shortly after his arrest, CNN dismissed him.

A 9-year-old "Jane Doe" had already filed a $15 million civil complaint against the former CNN producer.