MIDDLEBURG, Fla. – A Clay County man and sexual predator has been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of images showing the sexual abuse of children, according to the Department of Justice.
Richard Allan Griffin, 59, of Middleburg, received 16 years and 8 months in prison followed by a life term of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Friday. As part of his sentence, Griffin was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and surrender his cellphone.
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Griffin, who has a history of convictions for sex crimes targeting children, pleaded guilty in October to possession of images depicting the sexual abuse of children.
“This convicted sexual predator did not learn his lesson the first time,” Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips said of the case. “Now, as a result of the hard work of HIS special agents and our partners with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children unit, this predator will no longer be a threat to our community.”
The charges stem from a complaint filed by Griffin’s employer, who came forward after disturbing images were found on his work computer, according to court documents. A forensic search of Griffin’s company-issued cellphone uncovered over two dozen images of sexually exploited children, at least 10 of which were considered child pornography.
Griffin, a registered sexual predator, has convictions in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina for sex offenses, federal prosecutors said. In 1996, he was found guilty in Lee County of attempted capital sexual battery on a child and lewd and lascivious act. He was previously convicted in 1992 of child molestation and loitering for sex after exposing himself to a child in Chatham County, Georgia, and asking for sex. In 1990, he was also found guilty of indecent exposure in Charleston, South Carolina, after he exposed himself to a 15-year-old girl and offered to pay her for sex.
This case, investigated by Homeland Security and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide campaign launched by the Justice Department in 2006 to crack down on the sexual exploitation and abuse of minors. To learn more about this initiative, visit Justice.Gov/PSC.