A Louisiana information anchor who resigned shortly earlier than a competitor reported that he had been busted for compromising texts by “vigilantes focusing on males searching for to prey on underage ladies” is pursuing a defamation lawsuit after police decided he had truly organized to satisfy somebody he believed was a younger grownup lady – then was violently robbed.
Invoice Lunn’s lawsuit asserts that he and his employers at Shreveport’s KTBS information station have been in direct competitors with their counterparts at KTAL when the latter outlet revealed a June 2024 report that unduly “ended his profession in broadcast journalism” and offered “a uncommon instance of actionable … character assassination”.
Because the go well with places it, the Emmy-winning Lunn, 59, was single and had logged on to the Tinder relationship app “utilized by thousands and thousands of grownup People” when he obtained “curiosity” from somebody who presupposed to be a 19-year-old lady.
The consumer “initiated a sexually specific alternate” with Lunn over textual content messages earlier than inviting him to a house – he went over and, after being allowed in by a girl, “was overwhelmed and robbed of his belongings” by three males recognized as Antonio Coleman, Kautario Grigsby and Kameron Kennon, based on the go well with filed in Louisiana’s state court docket system.
Lunn says he subsequently fled the house, referred to as police with a neighbor’s assist, informed responding officers what had occurred, and allowed them to take his cellphone to help their investigation. At that time, his go well with says, Lunn realized a textual content message from the lady with whom he thought he was talking had been edited to learn that she was aged 16 – which, if true, would have made his correspondence unlawful as a result of she could be a minor.
After investigators took Lunn’s assertion and allowed him to depart with out charging him “with any crime,” KTAL journalist Dan Jovic requested police whether or not the KTBS journalist had been caught with a 14-year-old lady and ran from the cops, an officer mentioned in an affidavit cited by the go well with. Police informed Jovic that an investigation was ongoing, however Lunn had not run from authorities, and there had been no arrests.
Jovic nonetheless interviewed Coleman, Kennon and Grigsby, who claimed that they have been collectively “pretending to be” a 15-year-old lady on the MeetMe app as “a part of their mission to catch males” making an attempt to sexually abuse minors. Jovic and KTAL posted a narrative concerning the males and their alleged “vigilante efforts” utilizing MeetMe, whose minimal age requirement is 13.
Lunn, conscious the report was coming and apprehensive it will embarrass his superiors, resigned from KTBS shortly earlier than the piece got here out however hoped to return “as soon as the info cleared his title”, the lawsuit added.
Coleman and Grigsby have been later arrested on suspicion of utilizing relationship apps to lure “wealthy dudes” aside from Lunn earlier than beating and robbing the victims, based on the lawsuit and reporting from KTBS. KTBS additionally reported that Shreveport police had “cleared Lunn of any wrongdoing, … no expenses have been filed”, and the allegations in opposition to him have been debunked when investigators discovered “altered textual content messages to make it seem” falsely as if he had executed one thing unlawful.
Lunn sued Jovic in addition to KTAL’s proprietor Nexstar Media days forward of the primary anniversary of his resignation, demanding damages for what he maintained was defamation, invasion of privateness and infliction of emotional misery, amongst different grounds. Jovic’s spouse and co-anchor Jacquelyn Jovic can be named as a defendant after she helped introduce KTAL’s interview of Coleman and Grigsby, because the lawsuit notes.
In his lawsuit, Lunn says he “believes strongly within the newsgathering protections afforded [to] journalists in america” whether or not by means of the US structure or in rulings issued by federal and state courts. But Lunn’s lawsuit says being publicly offered as “a baby predator” when he was “nothing greater than a good man caught up in a felony scheme and utterly harmless” had prompted him to take KTAL to court docket, particularly after the station refused to right, retract or make clear the file.
Lunn “has sustained extreme reputational harm”, his authorized workforce says in his lawsuit. “It’s going to take years, if not many years, to rehabilitate his private {and professional} fame, if ever.”
Neither Nexstar nor the Jovics had remark Monday about Lunn’s lawsuit.
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