Sources: New York Post, New York Post, New York Post 12/11/21, Updated 12/16/21
Sick world of Cuomo’s ex-CNN producer John Griffin revealed in police report
Fired CNN producer John Griffin allegedly led a perverted double life in recent months involving the “adoptive” mother of a 9-year-old girl in Henderson, Nevada, who was part of a sordid BDSM ring that included the child, according to court and police documents.
Heather Carriker, 48, of Henderson, was arrested on August 21, 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.
Former Chris Cuomo producer Griffin is accused of flying Carriker and a 9-year-old girl described as her adoptive daughter to Logan Airport in Boston in July 2020 and then driving them in his red Tesla to a $2.5 million ski house in Ludlow, Vt., according to a federal indictment filed in Vermont last week.
Henderson police arrested Heather Carriker, 48, in August 2020.
Griffin’s apparent involvement with Carriker came to light as part of a police investigation in Nevada spurred by the child’s biological mother, Catherine O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan, who apparently took care of her daughter some of the time, discovered a trove of disgusting text messages between Carriker and a man, called “Meet Man,” who helped set Carriker up with at least four other “boyfriends” for BDSM activity, according to the police report.
At one point, Carriker allegedly references going to meet a man described as her “Dom.” Carriker also texted “Meet Man” that she had a “very eager 9yo,” referring to the girl whom she later took with her to meet Griffin in Vermont, who wanted to come see “Meet Man” engage in BDSM activities, the report
O’Sullivan had no idea that Carriker had allegedly taken the child to Boston and Vermont to stay with Griffin until she stumbled across the information in Carriker’s phone and computer — which were accessible via the 9-year-old’s phone, according to the report. O’Sullivan then called Griffin, who apparently confirmed that Carriker and the girl were with him, the report stated.
Griffin also allegedly told O’Sullivan that Carriker had had some sort of accident in Boston and was hospitalized, and the child was alone with him in Vermont, the report said.
“John claimed nothing happened between him and (the girl),” the report said. “He told Catherine he did not want to talk to police but would if he had to.”
However, the girl told a police-affiliated social worker that she had taken part in explicit sexual activity at Griffin’s Ludlow home with both Griffin and Carriker, according to the police report. She said it all took place on the third floor of the $2.5 million ski house, the report said.
Carriker was not reachable for comment Thursday. Griffin was fired by CNN Monday and transferred this week to Vermont, where is he awaiting arraignment. His arraignment was initially reported to be scheduled for Dec. 15, but the DOJ spokesman in Vermont told The Post that information was inaccurate and he did not yet know the date of the arraignment, and did not say where in Vermont Griffin is being held in custody.
Retired FBI Special Agent Arnold Bell, who spent 12 years running a violent crimes bureau in Los Angeles that involved busting child porn rings, said that “predators” who get close to kids or even pose as their parents to engage them in sexual activity or swap and sell them out to others is “not at all uncommon.”
Bell said his team often monitored chat rooms and websites like alt.com, the BDSM site Griffin allegedly used to contact women with kids.
“These people are monsters and the worst people in the world,” Bell told The Post. “A lot of them like to swap their kids as well. Usually we get male suspects but there are women as well.”
Griffin could face 10 years to life in prison on each of the three counts he is charged with, according to prosecutors.
CNN fires ex-Cuomo producer accused of luring girls for ‘sexual subservience’ training
A veteran CNN producer who worked “shoulder to shoulder” with ex-anchor Chris Cuomo has been fired after it was revealed he bragged about luring girls as young as 7 to his home for “sexual subservience” training, the network confirmed.
John Griffin, 44, was indicted Friday by a federal grand jury in Vermont for attempting to “induce minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity,” according to the Justice Department. CNN announced his suspension that same day.
“The charges against Mr. Griffin are deeply disturbing. We learned of his arrest Friday afternoon and terminated his employment Monday,” a CNN spokesperson told The Post.
Griffin is facing a mandatory minimum of 10 years on each of the three counts.
The former “New Day” producer bragged on LinkedIn about working “shoulder-to-shoulder with lead anchor Chris Cuomo, seeing him through each show and producing live breaking news across the country and around the world.”
According to court docs, Griffin, of Stamford, Connecticut, attempted to lure at least four girls, ages 16, 14, 13 and 9, to his Vermont ski house for “training sessions” on such things as “spanking” and “c–k worship,” reportedly saying a “woman is a woman regardless of her age.”
Griffin allegedly “advised” a mother of 9 and 13-year-old daughters that she needed to ensure her girls were “trained properly,” the DOJ said. He then gave the mother, Heather Carriker, $3,000 so she and the 9-year-old could fly from their home in Henderson, Nevada, to Boston in July 2020. There, Griffin picked up the two in his Tesla and drove them to his house in Vermont. During the visit, “the daughter was directed to engage in, and did engage in, unlawful sexual activity,” the DOJ said, that Carriker, 48, was also a part of.
The mother was arrested in August 2020 and charged with 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, according to a CBS Las Vegas affiliate.
Carriker told authorities she brought several sex toys with her on the trip, court records obtained by VTDigger, a local Vermont news site, show.
Police in Nevada first learned of incidents after someone came across text messages on the woman’s phone, the Las Vegas Review Journal said. While on the trip, Carriker allegedly engaged in BDSM and forced her daughter to join, according to the paper. She apparently told police her daughter took pictures of her “to document the progress of bruising (Carriker) received during consensual play with her boyfriend,” according to the arrest report.
Griffin also used Kik and Google Hangout to try to entice two other kids into sexual activity, the indictment said. In April 2020, Griffin allegedly suggested a “virtual training session” over a video chat where he could instruct a mother and her 14-year-old daughter to remove their clothes and touch each other.
Feds want Griffin to forfeit his home and his Tesla, among other possessions, that he used to allegedly carry out the crimes.
Chris Cuomo’s CNN producer charged with luring girls for ‘sexual’ training
A veteran CNN producer who worked “shoulder to shoulder” with now disgraced ex-anchor Chris Cuomo has been indicted on charges of luring young girls to his Vermont ski house for “sexual subservience” training.
John Griffin, of Stamford, CT, allegedly used messaging apps to befriend and persuade moms of young girls, telling them “a woman is a woman regardless of her age,” and that he should be the one to “train” their daughters sexually, according to the indictment from the US Attorney of Vermont.
John Griffin allegedly used messaging apps to befriend moms of young girls, telling them that he should be the one to ‘train’ their daughters.
Griffin, 44, allegedly got at least one mom of two daughters to bring the girl to his Ludlow ski getaway, in June 2020.
It was the mom’s responsibility to see that her older daughter, just 13, was “trained properly,” Griffin told her, according to the indictment.
Griffin, a father himself, sent the woman $3,000 for plane tickets so they could fly from Nevada to Boston’s Logan Airport, where he picked them up in his Tesla for the ride to Ludlow, according to court papers.
It was there that “the daughter was directed to engage in, and did engage in, unlawful sexual activity,” authorities alleged.
Griffin attempted to entice two other children over the internet into sexual activity, according to the indictment, which said he favored apps like Kik and Google Hangout for the alleged misdeeds. In April 2020, Griffin allegedly suggested a “virtual training session” over a video chat, that would include him instructing a mother and her 14-year-old daughter to remove their clothing and touch each other.
In June 2020, Griffin told another mom of a 16-year-old girl that she take a “little mother-daughter trip” to Griffin’s Ludlow ski house for sexual training involving the child, according to the indictment.
Griffin was arrested Friday by FBI agents after a federal grand jury in Vermont charged him with three counts of attempting to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
On his LinkedIn profile, Griffin boasts of having worked “shoulder-to-shoulder with lead anchor Chris Cuomo, seeing him through each show and producing live breaking news across the country and around the world.”
The worked together during Cuomo’s five years as co-anchor of CNN’a “A New Day.”
Griffin, who calls himself a “father” on his Twitter feed and appears to have three young children, worked at CNN for almost nine years. Prior to that he held producing positions at ABC News, Fox News and CBS.
Griffin described himself as an “entrepreneurial producer who combines uncommon technical skills with exceptional, experience-honed editorial judgment, always with an eye towards “How can we do it better,” How can we move forward,” “How can we add value for the audience?”
The government will seek to take the property used in the alleged crimes, including Griffin’s Ludlow ski house, his Tesla, and a Mercedes, according to the indictment.
Griffin faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in jail on each count.
Sources: New York Post 12/11/21
Comments