Sickening new particulars have emerged from a brand new court docket submitting associated to the case of disgraced CNN producer John Griffin, together with allegations that the father-of-three had made makes an attempt to repay witnesses, provided a girl $30,000 for a mother-daughter weekend with him, and was caught on video standing in his underwear subsequent to a unadorned nine-year-old woman.
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 utilizing a facility of interstate commerce to aim to entice minors to interact in illegal sexual exercise, amongst them a nine-year-old woman who had stayed along with her mom on the suspect's Vermont residence final 12 months.
US Legal professional for the District of Vermont Nikolas Kerest on Monday filed a movement for detention, asking a choose to maintain Griffin in jail pending trial.
'Griffin has tried to deceive, delete, and spend his approach out of being held accountable,' the prosecutor wrote. 'He's a rich man who will probably be determined to keep away from going through justice.'
Griffin is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday. Kerest filed the movement laying out the proof in opposition to Griffin after the defendant's lawyer, David Kirby, signaled his intention to file a movement in search of a pre-trial launch.
In line with the indictment in opposition to Griffin, from April to July of 2020, the CNN staffer used the messaging apps Kik and Google Hangouts to speak with folks purporting to be mother and father of younger daughters, telling them, amongst different issues, {that a} 'girl is a girl no matter her age,' that ladies are 'the dirtiest sluts attainable,' and that they need to be sexually subservient and inferior to males.
Federal prosecutors said that Griffin sought to persuade mother and father to permit him to coach their daughters to be sexually submissive, and bragged about coaching women as younger as seven years previous.
He allegedly provided digital coaching, the place he 'deliberate to instruct the 14-year-old and her mom to take away their clothes and contact one another' on webcam. He additionally instructed them about how in-person periods would come with 'spanking' and 'c**ok worship.'
In July 2020, a girl and her nine-year-old daughter traveled kind their residence in Nevada to Boston, the place they had been picked up by Griffin in his purple Tesla and pushed to his $1.8million ski residence in Ludlow, Vermont.
The indictment alleged that Griffin paid the lady $3,300 to cowl her journey bills.
'On the home, [the child] was directed to interact in, and did interact in, illegal sexual exercise,' federal prosecutors stated.
A subsequent legal investigation has uncovered that Griffin and the lady engaged in BDSM, and that the kid was allegedly pressured to participate within the sexual exercise.
US Legal professional Kerest wrote in his movement that whereas the Nevada mom and her daughter had been staying with Griffin, he considered 'web-pages that includes pornographic movies about intercourse with moms and daughters.'
Federal prosecutors have since obtained drone footage allegedly displaying 'the utterly bare nine-year-old woman, standing instantly subsequent to Griffin in his underwear.'
When confronted with the video, 'Griffin's first response was merely to counsel he was not wanting on the bare woman, regardless of that she was standing so near him to be touching,' the movement alleged.
The woman would later accuse Griffin of sexually assaulting her, telling FBI brokers that he known as her a 'little s***,' 'little wh***,' and 'little b****.'
After the mom and daughter returned to Nevada, he exchanged messages with their relative, denying any wrongdoing.
After the mom and daughter returned to Nevada, considered one of their relations exchanged messages with Griffin by which he stated he did not do something incorrect.
The relative replied that whereas the mom was 'too pilled out to recollect, baby 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.
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 of having sex with him in the presence of her children, according to the motion.
In arguing for keeping Griffin behind bars, the federal prosecutor brought up an unrelated incident from October 20202, 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 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.'
Kester 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.'
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.
