- A CNN producer from Connecticut was arrested by the FBI on Friday.
- John Griffin, 44, is accused of trying to induce minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
- A CNN spokesperson said he has been suspended pending the investigation.
A CNN producer from Stamford, Connecticut, was arrested by the FBI Friday after he was accused of luring mothers and their underage daughters for "sexual training" and unlawful sexual activity, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Vermont said in a news release.
John Griffin, 44, was charged with three counts of using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
The indictment said Griffin used messaging apps like Kik and Google Hangouts to connect with people who claimed to be the parents of young girls. He tried to "persuade parents to allow him to train their daughters to be sexually submissive," the news release said.
In one incident described in the indictment, Griffin is accused of sending a mother from Nevada $3,000 to fly her and her 9-year-old daughter to visit him, and of engaging in "unlawful sexual activity" with the child.
On Saturday, CNN said Griffin has worked as a producer for the network for about eight years.
"The charges against Mr. Griffin are deeply disturbing," a CNN spokesperson said. "We only learned of his arrest yesterday afternoon and have suspended him pending investigation."
If convicted, Griffin faces anywhere from 10 years in prison to a life sentence on each count, the news release said.