Wife indicted after Catawba Co. man charged in child sex abuse investigation

CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — The wife of a Catawba County man accused of sex crimes against nearly a dozen children has now been indicted.

Police say Jeffery Griffin is accused of committing sex crimes against at least 12 children over the past 24 years. Prosecutors say the charges filed against him stem from 11 of those victims.

Griffin has been charged with statutory sex offense and more than four dozen counts of indecent liberties with a child. He’s in jail with a bond of $1.2 million.

Now, his wife Debra has been indicted by a grand jury for aiding and abetting her husband.

Both Jeffery and Debra Griffin appeared before a judge in court on Thursday.

Deputies said they first learned of the case last August, when the mother of one of the victims reported the allegations to a patrol deputy. The incidents reportedly happened between 1995 and 2019.

Last month, two alleged victims in the case spoke with Channel 9′s Dave Faherty. Both are now adults, but describe being sexually assaulted when they were 13 years old. They said Debra Griffin babysat children at the couple’s home.

Deputies said a special victims unit investigator was assigned to the case and learned of potentially 11 victims.

The grand jury returned more than 48 charges against the husband and wife.

Jeffrey Griffin was originally arrested last month and charged with multiple counts of indecent liberties and first-degree statutory sex offense. He was indicted on additional charges this week.

Debra Griffin, was arrested Wednesday after also being indicted on multiple counts of aiding and abetting her husband, obstruction of justice and negligent child abuse.

At her husband’s initial court appearance last month, Griffin’s wife said she didn’t believe the allegations and supported her husband 100%.

Debra Griffin was given a bond of half a million dollars.

(WATCH BELOW: Man charged for prior rape amid investigation into child abuse, police say)

Man charged for prior rape amid investigation into child abuse, police say

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