Jim Thornton’s attorney is offering a new explanation for the incident that led to his suspension from Wheel of Fortune. She claims the longtime announcer accidentally landed on a controversial website while looking for mental health support resources. Thornton has not faced an arrest or criminal charge over the May airplane incident. His attorney insists that he did nothing illegal.
The attorney says Jim Thornton accidentally reached a pedophilia support site while seeking mental health sources
According to a letter obtained by Page Six, attorney Allison Hart said Thornton became active in suicide-prevention advocacy after losing a close family member to suicide two years ago. She said he went to online chat rooms to help people who were suffering from suicidal thoughts. Thornton had used 988lifeline.org and its chat forum in those efforts, Hart said. She claimed an acquaintance then directed him to another site with a similar web address.
Thornton thought that lifeline.chat provided suicide-prevention services, Hart said. She said he didn’t realize that the site provided mental health resources for individuals with pedophilic thoughts. “When my client understood what the website was about, he left the page and has not visited since,” Hart wrote. She also said the site itself was not unlawful and contained no unlawful child pornography.
The attorney strongly denied any suggestion that Thornton viewed or consumed illegal material. “My client has never viewed, downloaded or consumed any child pornography,” Hart wrote. Soon, the police ruled that no crime had been committed, she said. “In short, my client did nothing wrong,” she added, according to the outlet.
Sony suspended Thornton from Wheel of Fortune on Tuesday while it investigates allegations tied to the May 14 flight. “We have recently been made aware of allegations concerning Jim Thornton,” a Sony spokesperson told Page Six. “He has been suspended from ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ and we are recasting while we conduct a thorough investigation.” American Airlines also confirmed that a customer reported concerns and law enforcement met the flight upon arrival.
