In a shocking new report an editor for TLC’s once popular Jon & Kate Plus 8 has been arrested on child pornography charges.
William Blankinship, 56, who has worked on a variety of TLC’s family-friendly shows, including 17 Kids And Counting and Kate Plus 8 was arrested Oct 21 in North Carolina when he was caught in a State Bureau Investigation sting called “Operation Spyglass.” Blankinship was one of 24 men who were arrested on felony charges for “possession and distribution of child pornography and/or sex acts with a minor,” RadarOnline reports.
The arrest report states William is charged with 10 counts of “sex exploit of minor (3rd) 14-1,” which basically states he was in possession of visual materials that represented a minor engaging in sexual activity of some kind.
At this time – thankfully – no bond has been set because according to a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, William will remain “under the authority of the U.S. Marshals until they are sentenced and convicted, and then they’d be sent to a Federal prison.” This means he remains in prison throughout his trial and then is moved to the penitentiary where he will serve out his sentence.
William was never actually an employee of TLC, but was hired by the network as a subcontractor employed by Serious Robots and Figure 8 Films to edit portions of their reality shows. “Upon learning of the shocking allegations his employment was terminated,” Figure 8 Films announced in a statement.
Because William was a subcontractor not employed by the network TLC has assured the public he was, never at any time, in contact with any of the eight Gosselin children. “At no time was this man ever in the field or in direct contact with any of the talent for any of our productions,” their statement promises.
In response to the allegations Jon Gosselin is speaking out about his “distress” related to the situation — particularly that William had a tremendous amount of access to “raw footage” of his children! “Of course we filmed potty training…” Jon reflected. “Any parent would be freaked out by this, because the cameraman definitely shot the kids getting ready for bed, being showered and being changed.”
“My first thought when I heard this was, ‘Oh my God!’” Jon revealed. “I’m sure everyone working on the show is shocked and never expected something like this.” Gosselin added that he met William “several times” through his association to the show. Wait – didn’t TLC deny that he had any contact with their reality stars?
Jon is not taking the news lightly and will be doing further investigation into the charges. “I have contacted an attorney and I’m trying to gather all the information from the authorities in North Carolina to see if there is any evidence he has footage of our family or if he has distributed it.”
As for what his ex-wife Kate Gosselin has to say, Jon plans to communicate with her about the matter. “I will write her an email because I feel this is going to explode, because it is so bad,” Jon regretfully explained.
Jon who has been against his children continuing on reality television, previously stated: “I put my kids out there to every pedophile on the planet and they never got paid for it,” of their involvement in television. Sadly, this is a case where it isn’t rewarding to be right.
As for Kate, so far she has not released a statement on the horrendous matter. The mom of many has been focusing her time in her new promotional role for CouponCabin.com and was snapped leaving for her job with the company.
It is our sincerest hope that no damage has come to the Gosselin children related to this matter. Reality Tea will continue to bring you the updates.
THOUGHTS ON THE NEWS? DOES JON HAVE LEGAL RIGHTS AGAINST THE NETWORK FOR THEIR FAILURE TO PROTECT HIS FAMILY?
