Posted on 04/12/2023 10:59:11 AM PDT by Red Badger
John Griffin. Police photo
Ex-CNN producer John Griffin, who reached a plea deal late last year with federal prosecutors on child sexual abuse charges in Vermont, is asking a judge for more time to challenge a pre-sentence report in the case calling for up to life imprisonment, based on federal guidelines.
Griffin, 45, formerly of Stamford, Connecticut, pleaded guilty in December in U.S. District Court in Burlington to one of the three charges brought against him of “using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to persuade, induce, entice or coerce a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity,” according to the indictment against him.
Two remaining charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal, which would allow the judge to impose a penalty of not less than 10 years and up to the remainder of his life, the filings stated.
Judge William K. Sessions III ordered the federal probation office to conduct the pre-sentencing investigation prior to a hearing set for April 24, when he plans to impose Griffin’s prison term.
With that pre-sentencing report completed, David Kirby, Griffin’s attorney, recently filed a motion seeking more time to challenge its findings before his client is sentenced.
“Mr. Griffin, under the present Draft Pre-Sentence Report, is facing a guideline range of life imprisonment,” Kirby wrote in the filing.
“While Mr. Griffin’s crime is serious, this is an astounding guideline range for him to face under the circumstances,” the defense attorney added. “Counsel needs to discuss various matters relating to the Draft PSR with his expert before submitting his objections to the report.”
Federal sentencing guidelines are advisory, though judges often use them in considering the range of prison time in a case.
Kirby acknowledges in his filing that the April 24 sentencing hearing may need to be pushed back as a result of his challenge to the pre-sentence report.
Kirby wrote in the filing that he needs time to bring in an expert to help challenge the report’s finding regarding the guidelines.
Sessions, the judge presiding over the case, had yet to rule on Kirby’s request as of Monday afternoon.
Kirby also filed a memorandum in support of his request to challenge the pre-sentencing report’s finding that is under seal. It’s not known why it was filed under seal because the motion to file it under seal has also been sealed.
Kirby could not be reached Monday for comment. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Vermont, which is prosecuting the case, declined comment through a spokesperson.
According to charging documents, Griffin was accused of luring a mother and her 9-year-old daughter from Nevada to Vermont in July 2020. He allegedly paid more than $3,000 for their travel to a home he had in Ludlow, where he forced the girl into unlawful sexual acts.
He also was accused of unsuccessfully trying to lure other parents online to come to Vermont with their daughters, according to the indictment.
Griffin, a veteran CNN producer, was fired from his job with the cable news network after his arrest.
Don’t Pedo.
If they can’t put him in prison for life over the child sexual abuse charges, maybe they can give him a life sentence just because he was a CNN producer.
Another CNN degenerate
The libtard fake news network
Put him in general population and make sure the hard core thugs know exactly what he did.
Who’s paying for his attorney?
They will................
Shake CNN upside down and I bet you’ll find a lot of these pedophiles. They’re a Godless bunch.
Life sentence?
Who do they think this guy is...Donald Trump?
They’ll know... impossible to keep THAT secret!! 😁
Creepy dude
I’m sure life in prison won’t be that long
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