Connecticut Man Sentenced to 235-Month Prison Term for Inducing a Minor to Engage in Unlawful Sexual Activity

Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office stated that John Griffin, 45, formerly of Norwalk, Connecticut, was sentenced yesterday afternoon following his guilty plea to using a facility of interstate commerce to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. According to court records, since 2019, Griffin communicated over the internet with parents of minor daughters in an effort to allow him to train their girls in sexual submission. In furtherance of this plan, in the summer of 2020, Griffin paid for a mother, who he had met online, and her 9-year-old daughter to fly to Logan Airport in Boston, where he picked them up and drove them to his house in Ludlow, Vermont. While in Vermont, Griffin engaged in what he considered to be sexual training of the child. This “training” included Griffin forcing the child to perform a sex act with him and using the child to engage in bondage and sado-masochistic activity.

United States District Judge William K. Sessions III sentenced Griffin to a prison term of 235 months, to be followed by a 15-year term of supervised release. In imposing the sentence, Judge Sessions described Griffin’s conduct as “outrageous,” and explained that such conduct warranted a severe penalty.  Griffin was also ordered to pay approximately $1.1 million dollars in restitution to the child victim, and to forfeit the Tesla he used to transport the girl and her mother from Boston to Vermont, among other items.

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest said, “Leveraging his personal wealth, John Griffin targeted and sought to abuse vulnerable young girls. The sentence he received reflects the seriousness of Griffin’s horrific crime. We are grateful for the tremendous investigatory work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the invaluable assistance of both the Ludlow, Vermont and Henderson, Nevada Police Departments. This office along with its partners will continue to prioritize protecting the vulnerable and prosecuting dangerous offenders such as Griffin.”

“Mr. Griffin preyed on a vulnerable woman and her child, using his wealth to lure them to his home to manipulate and sexually exploit them,” said Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). “This sentence reinforces the message that the victimization of children will not be tolerated by law enforcement, and the FBI will continue to work with our partners at the United States Attorney’s Office to ensure justice is served to those who cause irreparable harm and trauma to these innocent young victims.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with support from the police departments of Ludlow, Vermont and Henderson, Nevada. The case is docket number 2:21-cr-00109-wks and the plea agreement is linked here:  US v. John Griffin Plea Agreement

Griffin was represented by David Kirby, Esq., of Pound Ridge, New York. The prosecutor was Assistant United States Attorney Michael Drescher.  

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and Child Exploitation Obscenity Section, Criminal Division (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.