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December 28, 2005Driver's ed instructor faces prison for sex crimePETOSKEY - An Emmet County driver's education teacher convicted of sex crimes involving a female student could spend over a decade in prison.Craig Griffith, 29, of Pellston, was convicted of one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and five counts of fourth-degree CSC on Dec. 8 after two hours of jury deliberation. Griffith, former owner and operator of Up North Driving School, was arrested in April on multiple sex felonies for having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old female student of the driving program. Emmet County Prosecutor James Linderman originally charged Griffith with counts as serious as first-degree CSC, punishable by life in prison. But a district judge reduced the severity of the charges during a preliminary examination before ordering Griffith to trial in 57th Circuit Court. Linderman said he was satisfied with the jury's decision on Griffith, who is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 13. Shortly after Griffith's arrest, his Up North Driving School's Web site posted a resignation letter he wrote to his wife and a statement that he would not seek re-employment as an instructor with the business because of the allegations. Michigan Secretary of State officials said in May that Griffith and the Up North school were licensed for driver's education instruction for the first time in March 2004. Griffith faces a maximum of 15 years in prison for the third-degree CSC conviction. "It is a situation where you have a position of trust and an adult's responsibility to a child," said Linderman. "Parents were trusting their minor children to a person who is in a position of authority and that was violated."
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