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Sickening new details have emerged from a new court filing related to the case of disgraced CNN producer John Griffin, including allegations that the father-of-three had made attempts to pay off witnesses, offered a woman $30,000 for a mother-daughter weekend with him, and was caught on video standing in his underwear next to a naked nine-year-old girl.
Griffin, 44, Chris Cuomo’s long-time producer, was arrested earlier this month after being indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity, among them a nine-year-old girl who had stayed with her mother at the suspect’s Vermont home last year.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont Nikolas Kerest on Monday filed a motion for detention, asking a judge to keep Griffin in jail pending trial.
‘Griffin has tried to deceive, delete, and spend his way out of being held accountable,’ the prosecutor wrote. ‘He is a wealthy man who will be desperate to avoid facing justice.’
A federal prosecutor’s motion seeking to keep Chris Cuomo’s former producer John Griffin (left and right with Chris Cuomo) jailed alleges that he tried to pay off witnesses and once offered a woman $30,000 for a ‘mother daughter weekend’ with him
Griffin is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.
Kerest filed the motion laying out evidence against Griffin after the defendant’s lawyer, David Kirby, signaled his intention to file a motion seeking a pre-trial release.
According to the indictment against Griffin, from April to July of 2020, the CNN staffer used the messaging apps Kik and Google Hangouts to communicate with people purporting to be parents of young daughters, telling them, among other things, that a ‘woman is a woman regardless of her age,’ that women are ‘the dirtiest sluts possible,’ and that they should be sexually subservient and inferior to men.
Federal prosecutors stated that Griffin sought to convince parents to allow him to train their daughters to be sexually submissive, and bragged about training girls as young as seven years old.
He allegedly offered virtual training, where he ‘planned to instruct the 14-year-old and her mother to remove their clothing and touch each other’ on webcam. He also told them about how in-person sessions would include ‘spanking’ and ‘c**k worship.’
Griffin was quoted as referring to a young girl as ‘just another piece of s*** wh***’ in an online conversation with her mother nearly a year ago.
In February 2020, Griffin allegedly offered a woman $30,000 for a ‘mother daughter weekend or week with me.’ He stressed that while he did not want to have intercourse with the daughter, ‘of course’ he expected there to be ‘SEXUALITY involved.’
Less than two weeks later, Griffin offered another woman $5,000 in exchange for having sex with him in the presence of her children, according to the motion.
In July 2020, a woman and her nine-year-old daughter traveled from their home in Nevada to Boston, where they were picked up by Griffin in his red Tesla and driven to his $1.8million ski home in Ludlow, Vermont.
The indictment alleged that Griffin paid the woman $3,300 to cover her travel expenses.
‘At the house, [the child] was directed to engage in, and did engage in, unlawful sexual activity,’ federal prosecutors said.
Griffin, a dad-of-three, allegedly sexually abused a nine-year-old girl after paying her mother $3,300 to travel cross country to stay at him Vermont ski home (pictured)
The nine-year-old claimed that Griffin sexually abused her and called her a ‘little s***,’ ‘little wh***,’ and ‘little b****.’ Pictured: Griffin’s bedroom at his Vermont home
A subsequent criminal investigation has uncovered that Griffin and the woman engaged in BDSM, and that the child was allegedly forced to take part in the sexual activity.
Kerest wrote in his motion that while the Nevada mother and her daughter were staying with Griffin, he viewed ‘web-pages featuring pornographic videos about sex with mothers and daughters.’
Federal prosecutors have since obtained drone footage allegedly showing ‘the completely naked nine-year-old girl, standing immediately next to Griffin in his underwear.’
When confronted with the video, ‘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 motion alleged.
Griffin was arrested earlier this month after being indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity
The girl would later accuse Griffin of sexually assaulting her, telling FBI agents that he called her a ‘little s***,’ ‘little wh***,’ and ‘little b****.’
After the mother and daughter returned to Nevada, he exchanged messages with their relative, denying any wrongdoing.
The relative replied that while the mother was ‘too pilled out to remember, little one do [sic],’ and added: ‘U lmk if ur feeling helpful within the hour or so.’ A short time later, Griffin sent the relative $4,000 through Venmo.
‘This apparent pay-off of a potential witness is not only further evidence of wrong-doing, it is an independent reason for Griffin’s detention,’ the prosecutor wrote.
The nine-year-old’s mother was arrested in August 2020 on two counts of child abuse, two counts of sexual assault against a child under 14 and one count of lewdness with a minor under 14. She is due back in court on Wednesday.
Drone footage allegedly showed Griffin standing in his underwear next to a completely naked nine-year-old girl in his yard. Pictured: Griffin and Cuomo
As part of his argument for keeping Griffin behind bars, the federal prosecutor brought up an unrelated incident from October 2020, during which he said the former producer of Chris Cuomo Prime Time allegedly tried to pay off the driver of a car he had crashed into. The other driver rejected the offer and called the police, resulting in Griffin being charged with DUI.
Kerest also noted that out of the six letters from his friends, his estranged wife and his father, which were submitted by Griffin’s lawyer this year, vouching for his character, four have since been withdrawn by their authors, among them his wife.
‘One friend explained that he was “blatantly lied to” about the nature of the investigation when he agreed to write on Griffin’s behalf,’ the motion stated. ‘That Griffin employed false pretenses to obtain a letter of support undermines any argument that Griffin’s character is sound. Such tactics indicate an unusual degree of desperation not to be held accountable.’
Kerest also revealed that after Griffin was arrested on December 10, he told FBI agents, unprompted: ‘without incriminating myself, I just want to let you guys know that I’m ashamed you even know my name at all.’
The disgraced CNN producer added: ‘in the time I’m with you guys, in the event I do anything inappropriate, I just want you to know that I’d feel the same way you guys would if I were in your situation. Thank you.’
Griffin (right) was fired from CNN after eight years on the job. Chris Cuomo (left) was also fired for aiding his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as the politician faced sexual harassment allegations
If convicted of the charges against him, Griffin faces a minimum of 10 years in federal prison and could be handed a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for each count.
CNN initially suspended Griffin while awaiting the conclusion of the investigation but later moved to fire him.
‘The charges against Mr. Griffin are deeply disturbing. We learned of his arrest Friday afternoon and terminated his employment Monday,’ a CNN spokesperson said in a statement.
Griffin had previously worked with Cuomo at ABC News between 2005 and 2013.
Cuomo was fired earlier this month for helping his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as the politician faced sexual harassment allegations.
Source: dailymail
