CNN Staffer John Griffin Charged With Enticing Moms, Daughters Into 'Sexual Activity'

[janterry]

A CNN employee has been charged with three counts of using a facility of interstate commerce to sexually abuse underage girls.

John Griffin, 44, of Stamford, Connecticut, was arrested on Friday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Vermont.

The indictment says that between April and July 2020, he used Google Hangouts and Kik to communicate with people purporting to be the parents of underage girls.

He allegedly used the applications to say that women should be "sexually subservient and inferior to men" and that a "woman is a woman regardless of her age."

and

The mother and the 9-year-old flew from Nevada to Boston in July 2020. Prosecutors say Griffin picked them up from the airport and drove them to his house in Ludlow, Vermont.

At the property "the daughter was directed to engage in, and did engage in, unlawful sexual activity," the indictment said.

https://www.newsweek.com/john-griffin-cnn-staffer-charged-enticing-moms-daughters-sexual-activity-fbi-1658485

[Ocelot II]

1. What a disgusting perv. And what's as bad is that their mothers participated!

[janterry]

2. ironically (?) he worked for Chris Cuomo at one point

n/t

[Hugh_Lebowski]

3. Might even be worse frankly ... I wonder ... was he paying them?

I just cannot imagine a mother ever doing something like this unless it was out of desperation.

Unless ... it's also how she was 'raised', I suppose?

There's truly some weird-ass people in this world.

Also, FFS, man ... 9 years old?

[janterry]

5. Saw story yesterday, man convicted of sexual assault on a 12 day old

Obviously, the baby was in the hospital with 'grievous' injuries.

I'm all for second chances, but the UK gave him 24 years. IMO, he really shouldn't get out. Ever. I mean.......a 12 day old baby. Perhaps he could - after 24 years, live in a supervised house on the grounds of a contained facility.

But out in public again? idk.......

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-59607271

[Hugh_Lebowski]

6. Well ... tbh part of me thinks that there's no way a remotely sane person rapes a 12 DAY old baby

I mean ... there has to be something seriously, seriously mentally wrong with you.

Doesn't there?

That's so extreme I just can't imagine someone functioning with anything approaching a normal mental capacity would ever do that.

But yeah ... one would think they should never get out.

A very small positive note is that, at 12 days old ... the poor baby won't ever remember it.

It's horrible to US, of course, but to it, it would be no different from any other physical trauma ... being injured in a nasty drop, or the like.

Small consolation, I know.

[janterry]

8. I'm not sure

I've never worked with sex offenders in treatment (I have worked with plenty of sex offenders who were in treatment - w/me - for other things). But - I went to a training with a woman who ran groups for sex offenders - many years ago - and there were men in group, sane enough to be in a group (so not floridly psychotic, for instance) - who talked about infants.

I'll spare you her story. I'll never forget it, because she had, at the time, an infant of her own at home.....

As for the baby. I'm also sorry to report that often those injuries don't quite heal. So, it's possible that she will grow up with reminders of what happened, for the rest of her life . (It's likely, for example, she will be infertile - due to what happened).

[Hugh_Lebowski]

10. So, so horrible. And so just ... weird. This phenomenon. I don't get it.

I'm thinking about being a parent (esp. a mom) and having to decide when you're going to tell your baby girl that this happened to her?

Imagine if you felt like you could've/should've prevented it?

Aside from the question of what age to tell her, it could be argued ... maybe you never tell her? Maybe that's actually better?

I mean maybe she's gay and/or maybe she's not interested in children in the long run for whatever reason, and just ... never finds out?

Does she NEED to know, does it cause more harm than good, etc?

How old can she get before you tell her, before she ends up resentful that you didn't tell her earlier? At what point is she 'old enough' that 'knowing' is the best thing?

I just can't even imagine this whole freaking thing.

So horrific.

And at the same time ... bizarre.

How do some men end up BEING like this?

[janterry]

11. what causes it, is very hotly debated atm

social scientists (young ones) are arguing that it's an orientation. They suggest it cannot be changed, like any other sexual orientation.

I do not agree (the suggestion makes me a tiny bit angry). I think they are putting their own ideological cart before the horse (it's just a bias they have.....and they look for qualitative proof of their bias).

IMO, these (mostly) men have gone off the rails for some reason (trauma of their own, most likely). That has been my experience, anyway. (Very few trauma/violence survivors become sexual abusers themselves - of course - but those that DO abuse, ime, are all trauma/violence survivors).

My proof is that has been true in my clinical experience. Without question - always true. But that's not quite proof, is it?
I would also say- from an evolutionary perspective - I fail to see this as an 'orientation'. humans evolved to protect their children. Not harm them.

But be very clear that this is a VERY debated topic atm in academia. I spent a good hour reading through a god awful dissertation that asserted the orientation argument. It was a qualitative dissertation...........(sigh).

[Hugh_Lebowski]

12. I'm not going to say 'I know', human 'sexuality' if you will is highly complex

I don't know that it's unthinkable that pedophilia (NOT sexual interest in literal infants to be clear!) is an 'orientation'.

Our closest cousins are bonobos ... and look at when the sexualization starts with them. It's not 12 days, but ... it's commonly very young, well before sexual maturity. With little kids, essentially. But they're animals, and it is what it is

So it strikes me as *possible* this theory is on the right track in a general sort of sense. Doesn't make it 'okay', of course, but from an 'academic' perspective ... our genetic heritage may play somewhat of a role.

I mean, it usually does in most things ... humans are animals as well, and other than high-level intellectual stuff like harnessing the atom and such ... we pretty much act like it.

But to be clear here, I'm talking about interest in like 12 YEAR olds, not 12 DAY olds.

There's no freaking way the latter is 'orientation'. That is a sign of some major freaking emotional damage I have to think.

[Sherman A1]

4. What Mother does this?

I am just at at loss here........

[Scrivener7]

7. Sounds like something some evangelical communities would not have a problem with.

Training young girls in subservience.

That is the raison d'etre of the evangelical movement. This is just a more extreme extension of it.

[janterry]

13. Griffin met the mother on an internet dating site affiliated with 'kink'

(according to the indictment).

So. That kind of mother......

[bahboo]

9. my neck hurts....

from shaking my damn head....what the fuck...