CEO of Kidd Kraddick Morning Show arrested, faces charge of sexual abuse of child
Editor’s note: A grand jury declined to indict George Laughlin, and a judge in a civil case later imposed a $25.2 million judgment against his accuser, saying her accusations were false and malicious.
The CEO of the company that owns the nationally-syndicated Kidd Kraddick Morning Show faces a charge of sexual abuse of a child, according to news reports and his attorneys.
George Laughlin, the CEO of YEA Networks, which is based in Las Colinas in Irving, surrendered to authorities on Tuesday, according to KXAS-TV.
Laughlin faces a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child younger than 14. His attorneys denied the allegation.
“Mr. Laughlin is innocent,” said Erin Hendricks of Dallas, one of his attorneys, in a Wednesday email. “He has undergone polygraph testing which he unequivocally passed, and that information has been shared with the state.”
Authorities have not released any information on the case.
The CEO is accused of sexual abusing the child about a decade ago, according to news reports. His attorneys told KXAS the child was not involved with Kidd’s Kids Foundation, a nonprofit founded by the late Kidd Kraddick.
Laughlin surrendered to authorities Tuesday and was released on his own recognizance.
Laughlin’s attorneys insisted that he is innocent and called the charge “false allegations.” The attorneys also noted Laughlin was cooperating with Dallas detectives.
Kidd Kraddick Morning Show co-host Kellie Rasberry issued this statement:
“I would not work for a man if I thought there was one shred of truth to this. I know him as a man and I know his character. I’ve seen him with children for 25 years. I believe him 100 percent. I pray that the truth comes out.”
YEA Networks was created by the late Kidd Kraddick in 2006 as a distribution arm of his nationally syndicated morning show. Kraddick died in July 2013 while he was an fundraising event for his charity.
Laughlin has been CEO of YEA Networks since 2011. Before he became CEO, Laughlin raised more than $100 million to launch GAP Broadcasting with Oaktree Capital in 2007, according to the YEA Networks website. He served as president of GAP for four years. GAP owned 60 radio stations across Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Alabama. He earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism form Louisiana State University in 1991.
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 9:03 AM.
