VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A former Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University professor who is also a pastor at a Daytona Beach church is facing more charges after detectives said they found he not only possessed child pornography but was also sending images to others in chat rooms.
John Griffin, 73, was first arrested Jan. 6 on 30 felony charges of child pornography possession. According to the latest arrest report, Griffin now faces 13 new felony charges for electronic transmission of child pornography.
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Daytona Beach police detectives with the Advanced Technology & Cyber Crimes Unit sought the new charges after a full review of Griffin’s iPad and his social media accounts, according to the report.
Following a tip from Snapchat in August 2020 to the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children, authorities began investigating Griffin. They initially found more than 200 images on his iPad after his first arrest but further review of Griffin’s social media and chat accounts unearthed he was also sending the files to other users, according to the arrest report.
Griffin shared graphic images with other Kik chat users of children estimated to be as young as 5 years old, detectives said.
Detectives also determined through Kik messages Griffin had an online relationship with a 15-year-old girl in Arkansas. Their conversations were graphic and sexual in nature, according to the report.
Griffin was previously an associate professor of air traffic management at Embry-Riddle and is a pastor at Riverbend Community Church in Ormond Beach.
Griffin is being held at the Volusia County Jail.