Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton denies involvement in alleged pedophile chat on flight
Jim Thornton, suspended from Wheel of Fortune, has denied any participation in a pedophile chat room or viewing child pornography after a passenger claimed to have seen incriminating messages on his laptop during a flight.
Wheel of Fortune announced the suspension of longtime announcer Jim Thornton on Sept. 1 following undisclosed allegations stemming from a May flight on American Airlines. A fellow passenger later told a media outlet that she observed messages on Thornton's laptop that appeared to reference a pedophile chat room, including references to "a couple of cute boys and a hot little girl" and the abbreviation "CP," which she interpreted as child pornography. Additional messages reportedly mentioned a bathroom encounter on the 737 and a question about the "mile-high club" in the context of a sexual act. Thornton's attorney has responded that the announcer has never viewed child pornography and denies any involvement in such a chat. It remains unclear whether the messages were authored by Thornton or another individual.