As the CNN pedophile saga continues, producer John Griffin has been slapped with a $15 million lawsuit amid a federal child trafficking case.
Criminal Case
In the criminal case against him in federal court, Griffin is facing one trafficking charge and two counts of attempted trafficking. Both of these charges are in connection with soliciting parents with underage children.
Between April and July of 2020, the longtime CNN producer allegedly invited three different women and their underaged daughters to his property “for the purposes of sexual training,” according to the federal indictment.
Only one woman accepted his offer, a mother from Nevada, according to the prosecutors. He allegedly paid her more than $3,000 to fly to Boston, then to stay at his multimillion dollar vacation home in Vermont for a week while he performed various sex crimes on her 9 year old adopted daughter.
Lawsuit
Griffin was fired from CNN in December 2021 over the child trafficking allegations, and has now been named in a civil lawsuit in Connecticut that alleges “despicable acts” of “horrific sexual abuse” and exploitation.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Bridgeport, Connecticut, states: “For several years prior to 2020, the defendant solicited young girls, including the minor plaintiff, for the purpose of knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing and coercing them to engage in sexual activity, sexual exploitation, and/or sexual trafficking.”
The suit, which was filed on behalf of a 9 year old “Jane Doe” and custodial “next best friend” Janet Doe, seeks up to $15 million in damages and fees.
Some of the allegations included in the lawsuit “likely mirror those in a 2020 Nevada criminal complaint against the victim’s adoptive mother and the federal indictment of Griffin announced last month,” according to reporting from Fox News.
Court filings show that among evidence collected against Griffin is a drone video he took that shows a “completely naked 9-year-old girl” standing next to him in his underwear.
“When confronted with this video during an interview by FBI agents, Griffin’s first response was merely to suggest he was not looking at the naked girl, despite that she was standing so close to him to be touching,” the prosecutor’s pretrial detention memo states.
Soon after the woman was arrested in August of 2020, federal investigators seized electronics and storage devices belonging to the CNN producer. But, for some unknown reason, no charges against Griffin were announced until over a year later, in mid-December of 2021. This prompted criticism from several former investigators, who said that they saw no legitimate reason for the delay in charging.
Griffin stayed on as a producer at CNN for that entire year, and was allowed to live his life as normal, likely coming into contact with children on a daily basis. He was finally fired in December of 2021.
“Prior to his arrest and indictment, we had no knowledge about the case,” a CNN spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
In 2021, Griffin moved out of the $4 million home he and his wife shared in Connecticut due to marital troubles, and was living alone in a house in Stamford when he was arrested by the FBI.
If convicted, Griffin could face life in prison. He pleaded not guilty, and is being held without bail in Vermont.
