Detroit anchor Hank Winchester, cleared of sexual misconduct, blasts investigation

USA Today

12 hours ago

Days after his attorneys announced he had been cleared in a criminal investigation, Detroit-based broadcast reporter Hank Winchester called the ordeal "the worst nine weeks of my life."
Winchester, AGE, who serves as an anchor on NBC's WDIV-TV in Michigan, returned to his podcast "The Morning After with Kelly Stafford & Hank" to shed some light on a scandal that wracked the local news community.
"I've lost both my parents. I've had testicular cancer. I've gone through a divorce," the veteran journalist said. "Nothing compares to this."
The Aug. 18 podcast appearance marked his first since a local TV station reported that he was being investigated by law enforcement for sexual misconduct and that his home in Beverly Hills, California, had been searched.
At a press conference on Aug. 15, Winchester's attorney, Neil Rockind, said he had been "exonerated and cleared," describing his client as "the victim of baseless and unfounded allegations."
The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement that same day that the Beverly Hills Police Department had presented their findings, and "it was concluded there was no cause to file any charges against Mr. Winchester."
Winchester, an Emmy-winning consumer affairs reporter who has been with WDIV since 2001, spoke candidly about what he called "an emotionally exhausting process."
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He also talked philosophically about what he has learned from the more than two months he spent mostly at home as the investigation proceeded.
"It's an opportunity for me to take a step back and say, like, OK, this happened. What's the lesson? What can be learned? How can it make life better?" he said. "As much as it was insane and horrific and devastating, I have to lean into that, and that's what I'm doing."
For her part, Winchester's co-host, Stafford, discussed how angry she has felt about the way he was "painted in the past nine weeks," which she saw as "the complete opposite man you are."
"This is where the media has got to do a better job," she said, telling the media to "get on your computers and report the new news.'
Despite his negative feelings about the investigation, Winchester said he had "the utmost respect" for police and prosecutors.
"I will let you know that there was an allegation that was made against me by someone and police have a responsibility in these situations to investigate allegations," the anchorman said. "But they should also take the time to investigate the person making the allegation."
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Calling the ordeal a "dark chapter of my life," he added that the past nine weeks had changed his perspective.
"What is important to me today is much different than what was important to me before this started," he said.
Winchester, who was placed on leave from WDIV in June, did not address the status of his future at the Detroit NBC affiliate. In a message to the Free Press, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, sent Friday, Aug. 15, via email, WDIV vice president and general manager Bob Ellis stated the station has reached out to Winchester to discuss next steps.