Emmy-winning Detroit TV reporter's home searched by authorities amid sexual harassment probe
The investigator becomes the investigated.
Authorities in Detroit searched the home of an Emmy-winning television reporter who co-hosts a podcast with a Los Angeles Rams player's wife following alleged sexual misconduct.
3 Television reporter Hank Winchester's home was searched by authorities following reports of alleged unwanted sexual advances with a man during a massage.
hankwinchester/Instagram
Hank Winchester, an investigative reporter at the NBC-affiliated WDIV Local 4 station and host of HelpMeHank, is married to Oakland County Circuit Judge Jacob Cunningham, according to Winchester's Instagram. The two also share a young daughter.
Beverly Hills Police searched his home alongside the Oakland County Sheriff's Office while executing a search warrant related to alleged unwanted sexual advances Winchester made toward a man during a massage, as reported by Fox 2.
Winchester also co-hosts 'The Morning After' podcast with Kelly Stafford, who is married to LA Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. The show occasionally features high-profile guests employed by media powerhouses like Access Hollywood and ESPN.
3 Winchester hosts HelpMeHank at WDIV Local 4.
hankwinchester/Instagram
Before joining the Rams, Matthew Stafford played for the Detroit Lions from 2009 to 2020. Winchester has been close with the entire family for years, he wrote in a farewell to the Staffords when they moved to LA in 2021.
Winchester was also placed on administrative leave as a result of the 'external investigation,' WDIV Vice President Bob Ellis wrote in a statement.
3 Winchester co-hosts 'The Morning After' podcast Kelly Stafford.
hankwinchester/Instagram
Todd Flood, Winchester's attorney, is confident the probe will flop.
'Hank has spent decades bringing truth to our community and fighting for our citizens. Because he holds a high-profile position in our community, that can at times generate false accusations. This investigation will end where it began – nowhere,' he wrote.
No charges have been filed. The investigation is still ongoing.
Winchester isn't the only media figure to find himself facing similar allegations in recent months.
In April, a disgraced weatherman in Virginia was arrested after allegedly making a sex tape and using it to extort his victims.
Last year, a Louisiana television anchor resigned after he was caught sexting who he thought was a 15-year-old girl but was in reality a vigilante trio dubbed the 'predator hunters.'
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