Photographs said to show Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton viewing a chatroom associated with people with paedophilic thoughts on an aeroplane have emerged after Sony Pictures Television suspended him from the programme.
The images, published by TMZ, appear to show Thornton using a laptop during an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles in May. A fellow passenger reportedly raised concerns with cabin crew, who alerted authorities before the aircraft arrived at Los Angeles International Airport.
American Airlines confirmed that Flight 1276 was met by law enforcement on 14 May “following concerns reported by a customer onboard”. Thornton was questioned after landing but was not arrested or charged with an offence.
The photographs appear to show messages referring to children and sexual material. Timestamps reported by TMZ suggest Thornton remained on the website for at least 57 minutes.
Thornton’s lawyer, Allison Hart, said he had intended to access a suicide-prevention forum and had been sent a link to a different website by an acquaintance. She said he left after realising the nature of the chatroom.
Hart also said the website was not unlawful and that Thornton had never viewed, downloaded or consumed child sexual abuse material. She said he had not engaged in illegal conduct and that police had quickly determined that no wrongdoing had occurred.
Sony Pictures Television Studios said it had “recently been made aware of allegations concerning Jim Thornton”. The studio added that he had been suspended from Wheel of Fortune and that it was recasting the announcer while carrying out a thorough investigation.
Thornton has served as the show’s announcer since 2011. Episodes already recorded have reportedly been edited to remove his contributions as the investigation continues.
