Jim Thornton says suicide prevention search led to alleged pedophilia chatroom in hour-apart photos

For years, Jim Thornton was the familiar voice viewers heard but rarely saw on “Wheel of Fortune.” Now, newly published airplane photos have placed the veteran announcer at the center of a deeply disturbing controversy that has already cost him his place on the show, at least temporarily.

The images show Thornton, 61, using a laptop aboard American Airlines Flight 1276 from Charlotte to Los Angeles on May 14. He was wearing a “Wheel of Fortune” jacket while a chatroom associated with people experiencing pedophilic thoughts was visible on his screen.

Messages photographed by a nearby passenger included sexualized comments about children and references to “CP,” initials the passenger believed meant child pornography. Another participant even discussed the danger of looking at such material aboard an airplane. The published images do not establish that Thornton wrote any of the messages or downloaded illegal material.

The passenger told TMZ that she became alarmed by what she saw and showed her photos to a flight attendant. The crew notified the captain, and law enforcement officers met Thornton when the plane arrived at Los Angeles International Airport.

American Airlines confirmed that Flight 1276 was met by authorities after a concern was reported by a passenger. Thornton was questioned and allowed to leave. He has not been arrested or charged with any crime.

However, the timestamps visible in the passenger’s photos indicate that the site remained open on Thornton’s laptop over a span of at least 57 minutes. That does not prove he was continuously reading the conversation or participating in it, but it has raised questions about his claim that the visit resulted from an accidental click.

Jim Thornton says he was looking for suicide-prevention support

Thornton’s attorney , Allison Hart, said he became involved in suicide-prevention advocacy after losing a close relative to suicide two years ago. According to Hart, he had previously visited the official 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and its online chat service.

Hart said an acquaintance in the suicide-prevention community directed Thornton to lifeline.chat, a different website that Thornton allegedly believed offered support similar to 988lifeline.org. The site instead describes itself as providing mental health support to people experiencing pedophilic thoughts.

“When my client understood what the website was about, he left the page and has not visited since,” Hart said. She also insisted that the site itself is not illegal, contains no unlawful child sexual abuse material and that Thornton has never viewed or downloaded such content.

The explanation addresses how Thornton says he reached the chatroom, but the 57-minute span documented by the photographs remains unresolved. Hart said officers spoke with Thornton for no more than five minutes before concluding that no crime had occurred. Law enforcement has not publicly provided its own detailed account of the encounter.

Sony Pictures Television suspended Thornton after learning about the allegations. “We have recently been made aware of allegations concerning Jim Thornton,” the company said. “He has been suspended from ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ and we are recasting while we conduct a thorough investigation.”

The first month of the program’s upcoming 44th season had already been recorded ahead of its September 14 premiere. Producers are now reportedly re-editing those episodes with another announcer, a process one source described to TMZ as a “major undertaking.” No permanent replacement has been announced.

Thornton became the show’s full-time announcer in 2011 after the death of Charlie O’Donnell. He remained behind the microphone through Pat Sajak’s retirement and Ryan Seacrest’s arrival alongside Vanna White. He also announces “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.”

For now, the consequences are professional rather than criminal. Thornton has not been accused in court of possessing illegal material, and the published photos do not show him writing messages in the forum. But the length of time reflected in those images has turned what his attorney describes as a mistaken visit into the central question facing Sony’s investigation.