Former CNN producer John Griffin sentenced to 19 years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor

Former CNN television producer John Griffin was sentenced to 19 years in prison and an additional 15 years of probation for convincing a nine-year-old girl to come to his home and then sexually abuse her.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Vermont had charged Griffin with three counts of using the interstate commerce facility to lure and coerce minors to engage in sexual activity at the ski lodge he owns in that state.

The former producer initially pleaded not guilty. However, he reached a plea deal last year, which led to the government dropping two remaining charges of solicitation of a minor.

In his statement, Griffin agreed that during the summer of 2020, he met a woman on a website and convinced her to come to his home in Ludlow, Vermont, and to bring her daughter along for sexual activities. The former producer paid the mother and child $3,000 to fly from Nevada to Boston and then took them to his home, where he sexually assaulted the child.

It should be noted that the girl's mother, Heather Carriker, was also charged with child abuse and assault. However, no details are known about her case.

The other two charges that were dismissed following the plea agreement related to two other girls Griffin allegedly tried to lure to abuse them. One of the allegations suggested that the former producer offered a mother and her 14-year-old daughter a "virtual training session" with instructions for them to remove their clothes and touch themselves.