Ex-CNN producer John Griffin sentenced for child sex abuse

A disgraced CNN producer who previously worked closely with ousted anchor Chris Cuomo was sentenced this week to almost two decades behind bars after pleading guilty to luring a minor into sex acts.

John Griffin, 46, was sentenced to over 19 years in prison and 15 years’ supervised release at a US District Court hearing in Vermont on Tuesday.

Griffin, of Stamford, Connecticut, pleaded guilty in December to using interstate commerce for the enticement of a minor.

The Princeton University graduate convinced a woman he met online to bring her 9-year-old daughter to his $2.5 million Ludlow ski hideaway, where he then molested the child, prosecutors said.

Griffin also paid the mother $3,000 in July 2020 to fly from Nevada to Boston, where he picked them up and drove them to his home and directed the girl to engage in sex acts.

The girl’s mother, Heather Carriker, has also been slapped with child abuse and child sexual assault charges, though there are no updates on her case.

As part of Griffin’s plea deal, the two additional charges against him of enticement of a minor were dropped.

Griffin’s hefty sentence comes a year and a half after he was arrested in Dec. 2021 on multiple charges of inviting girls as young as seven to his Vermont home for “sexual subservience” training. 

The initial documents accused him of persuading women he met online that “a woman is a woman regardless of her age” and that he should be the one to sexually “train” their young daughters. 

Griffin, who is a father himself, also attempted to entice two minors into sexual activity using app like Kik and Google Hangout, the state’s attorney said.

In April 2020, for example, he allegedly suggested a “virtual training session” that would include him instructing a mother and her 14-year-old daughter to remove their clothing and touch each other.

Griffin initially pleaded not guilty to all charges, and was axed from CNN, where his LinkedIn indicates he worked as a senior producer for eight years following stints at ABC, Fox News, and CBS.

On his profile, Griffin boasted that he worked “shoulder-to-shoulder” with since-ousted lead anchor Chris Cuomo. Behind-the-scenes images also show the two men huddled together between takes.

At the time of his arrest, the government sought to seize Griffin’s Ludlow property as well as his Tesla and Mercedes vehicles.

His wife, Allyson Griffin, filed for divorce and sought custody of the couple’s three children and ownership of their $4.5 million Norwalk mansion in Jan. 2022.

As part of his plea deal, Griffin cannot have contact with anyone under 18 years old, except in the presence of an appropriate adult approved by his probation officer.

He is also banned from areas frequented by minors such as playgrounds, schools, and theme parks, unless given permission by his probation officer.

With Post wires