An Emmy-award winning NBC News investigative reporter, who also co-hosts a widely popular podcast, is under investigation after authorities raided his home over allegations of sexual harrassment.
Hank Winchester, an investigative reporter at the NBC-affiliated Detroit, MI area WDIV Local 4 station and host of HelpMeHank, is now the subject of the investigation.
Winchester, who co-hosts a podcast with a Los Angeles Ram player’s wife, was raided by authorities investigating allegations he made unwanted sexual advances toward a man during a massage, according to reports from The New York Post.
According to the report, 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.
Police and sheriff’s deputies raided Winchester’s home in Beverly Hills, a suburb roughly 20 miles north of Detroit, on June 13.
Investigators seized electronics from the home, but no charges have yet filed in connection to the case.
Reports from Detroit-area Fox 2 say that Winchester recently studied massage therapy. It’s unclear if he was the one being massaged or serving as the masseuse.
Winchester was placed on administrative leave as a result of the “external investigation,” WDIV Vice President Bob Ellis wrote in a statement.
Todd Flood, Winchester’s attorney, is confident the probe will go nowhere.
“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.
Winchester 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.
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, according to The New York Post.
Winchester has worked at WDIV since 2001, serving as both a reporter and anchor, his station biography states.
He is currently the head of the outlet’s Help Me Hank Consumer Unit, which reveals recalls, works to solve consumer complaints, and tracks down thieves in the community.
No charges have been filed. The investigation is still ongoing.