Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton suspended after pedophilia chatroom report

Jim Thornton, the longtime announcer for "Wheel of Fortune," has been suspended by the show after TMZ reported that a fellow passenger on a flight last May saw messages on his laptop that appeared to come from a chatroom for pedophiles. The passenger alerted flight crews, and law enforcement met the plane when it landed in Los Angeles; TMZ reports Thornton was questioned and then free to leave.

Thornton's lawyer says he was never arrested or charged and that law enforcement determined no crime had occurred. She explains that Thornton had become active in suicide-prevention advocacy and was sent a link to a chatroom whose name echoed the suicide hotline forum he visited — but that the site in question is for people with pedophilic thoughts and has no connection to the hotline. The lawyer says Thornton left once he realized what the room was and never viewed or downloaded child pornography.

TMZ's report describes messages the passenger photographed, including references the passenger took to mean child pornography, and notes that timestamps in the photos appear to show Thornton in the room for at least 57 minutes. The report is based on the passenger's account and the attorney's statement; Thornton has not been charged.