Feds Seized Devices From Longtime CNN Producer Accused of Sex Crimes Over a Year Before Arrest

Former CNN producer John Griffin is seen in a file photograph. LinkedIn

A longtime CNN producer who was arrested last week for allegedly enticing young girls to carry out sexual acts was on the radar of authorities since at least September 2020, according to court documents.

Authorities seized computers, phones, cameras, and other devices from John Griffin last fall, according to one of the documents.

That same month, law enforcement in Nevada arrested an alleged accomplice of Griffin’s, according to another court filing obtained by The Epoch Times.

That woman, Heather Carriker, took her adopted daughter to Griffin’s ski home in Vermont and directed her to engage in illegal sexual activity, prosecutors say.

The girl, 9, did as she was told.

The length of time that elapsed between those alleged crimes and Griffin’s arrest stretched more than a year.

The FBI declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, which brought the charges, also declined to comment. A CNN spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment concerning the seized devices.

Griffin, who was fired by CNN this week, has three young children and often hosted sleepovers and pool parties at his mansion in Connecticut during the intervening time, Fox News reported on Friday.

Attorney Michael Bachner told the outlet he thought it was unusual authorities didn’t act sooner.

“If the FBI did a search in September and was aware of the underlying conduct against Griffin in the Nevada case, it’s kind of remarkable that steps were not taken to get Griffin off the streets,” he said. “To leave someone free when you’re aware or have probable cause to believe he’s a predator to me is a wrong decision.”

Griffin’s alleged conduct was so serious that a federal judge agreed this week to order him held without bail. Prosecutors had argued there was no way to ensure he'd appear in court otherwise.

Griffin faces up to life in prison if convicted of one of the three counts with which he was charged.

Besides the weight of the evidence against Griffin and the lengthy time in prison he faces, prosecutors said he has a history of alcohol or substance abuse.

Griffin is accused of messaging parents of young children and pressuring them to bring the kids to him for illegal sexual activity.

The two other situations he allegedly engaged in were not in-person.

Griffin was said to have paid over $3,000 to Carriker to take her daughter to Vermont.

The ex-CNN producer picked the pair up at Boston’s Logan airport in July 2020 and drove them in his Tesla to his ski home in Ludlow, according to prosecutors.

Law enforcement in Nevada interviewed the 9-year-old, who described how she engaged in illegal activities with her mother and Griffin.

After three nights, she did not want to participate any longer so she stayed in another room while Griffin and her mother went into the basement, according to a criminal complaint.

Carriker was charged with child abuse, sexual assault, and lewdness with a child.