Latest news with #MichaelParkinson
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Swimming legend Ian Thorpe ‘robbed of $150,000'
Australian swimming legend Ian Thorpe has reportedly been the victim of a major theft, according to reports. The winner of five Olympic gold medals was seen at Paddington Police Station on Thursday where he reported being a victim of crime. The news was first reported by 2GB's Ben Fordham on Friday. 'We believe he's in the red to the tune of $150,000,' Fordham said. 'There are no details about what's allegedly happened to Ian Thorpe. We don't know if he's been robbed online or in person.' Fordham said Thorpe's manager was initially unaware but when he spoke to his client, Thorpe told him he went to police 'to talk about an insurance job'. NSW Police confirmed that at 'about 4pm on Thursday 5 June 2025, a 42-year-old man attended Paddington Police Station to report an alleged theft incident'. 'Officers attached to Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command have commenced an investigation into the incident,' police said. 'There is no further information available at this time.' Thorpe has been contacted for comment. The 42-year-old was the most successful athlete at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, winning three gold and two silver medals. He won another two golds and a silver at Athens in 2004, before retiring from the sport in 2006. He came out as gay in a 2014 interview with British TV presenter Michael Parkinson after years of denying his sexuality publicly, saying he saying he hoped it would make it easier for others. Thorpe was a prominent voice the 2017 Yes campaign and was in a long-term relationship with Australian model and entrepreneur Ryan Channing from 2015 to 2019. Channing died in Bali in 2022 at age 32 from a reported prescription medication overdose. 'I think when it is someone that is so young, it is tragic for anyone to see them passing at that kind of age,' Thorpe told The Daily Telegraph at the time.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Man accused of sexually assaulting 14-year-old girl in CT extradited from New Hampshire
A man was extradited from New Hampshire last week to face charges alleging he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in Connecticut last April. Michael Parkinson, 39, of Claremont, New Hampshire was extradited on Friday and charged with second-degree sexual assault and illegal sexual contact with a victim under 16, according to the Connecticut State Police. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the girl disclosed the allegations to a therapist two days after the alleged incident, but she would not immediately identify who sexually assaulted her. The therapist notified the Connecticut Department of Children and Families before the agency alerted the state police. On May 2, 2024, the girl told a school counselor she was ready to identify who assaulted her and alleged that Parkinson had abused her, the warrant affidavit said. During a forensic interview at the Child Advocacy Center in New London several days later, the girl told officials that the alleged incident took place on April 20, 2024, during a sibling's 11th birthday party in Colchester. The girl said Parkinson walked in on her in the bathroom and asked to lift her hoodie, but she told him no, the warrant affidavit said. She said he later entered her bedroom where she was lying in bed and 'plopped' down next to her, according to the warrant affidavit. The girl claimed that Parkinson asked if it was OK to move her hand and she agreed, but she alleged that he took her hand and put it in his pants, the warrant affidavit said. The girl claimed that her brother then walked by in the hallway and Parkinson allegedly asked him to come in and turn the lights off, which he did before leaving, according to the warrant affidavit. The teen alleged that Parkinson touched her inappropriately, the warrant affidavit said. The girl then alleged he encouraged her multiple times to get on her back in an attempt to sexually assault her, but she told him no each time, according to the warrant affidavit. The teen claimed that Parkinson had never tried assaulting her before the incident, according to the warrant affidavit. She alleged he would sometimes put his hand up her shirt when she was in the basement and that her mother would be in the room at times and not know it was happening, the warrant affidavit said. The girl said she never told anyone about what happened in the basement. During the investigation, the girl's mother turned over the teen's diary to police after finding an entry detailing the alleged assault. In it, the girl wrote that Parkinson allegedly tried assaulting her and that he had been acting 'weird' the past few months and was touching her, according to the warrant affidavit. The girl said she knew what was going to happen the moment he asked someone to turn off the lights, the warrant affidavit said. In the diary entry, the teen said she conducted a Google search to find out what it was called when someone touched her the way she alleges she was touched, according to the warrant affidavit. She said the search turned up 'sexual assault,' which was defined as someone touching one of multiple parts of someone's anatomy without consent, 'which he definitely did to all of them,' she wrote. 'I just feel like he has some untamed sexual desires because stooping so low as a 14-year-old girl? thats (sic) a little messed up,' the diary entry read, according to the warrant affidavit. 'I think he is 38 which is a 24-year age difference.' The girl alleged in her diary entry that Parkinson asked if he could take a photo of her, the warrant affidavit said. The mother obtained a protective order against Parkinson on May 28, 2024, that was put in effect for a year, the warrant affidavit said. He allegedly called her about two weeks later and left her a voicemail. 'Hey, just wanted to say I love you and I regret everything I've ever done and I want you to know if I could change it I would,' Parkinson allegedly said, according to the warrant affidavit. Investigators said they recorded the voicemail as evidence. According to the warrant affidavit, Parkinson left Connecticut after the incident and went to New Hampshire. On June 11, 2024, he was arrested after sending text messages to family members saying he had a firearm, which was a violation of the protective order, the warrant affidavit said. Parkinson was arrested by officers with the Claremont Police Department in New Hampshire. In their report, police said he was found with a firearm and was also charged with contacting the mother in violation of the order, the warrant affidavit said. State police had authorities in New Hampshire ask Parkinson if he would be willing to speak about the allegations, but he declined, the warrant affidavit said. During a text message conversation with a friend, Parkinson was encouraged to continue seeking therapy so he never does anything to 'hurt another soul again,' the warrant affidavit said. After affirming that it would never be an issue again, the friend asked him why it was a problem in the first place, according to the warrant affidavit. 'It wasn't and that's what bothers me the most,' he allegedly responded, the warrant affidavit said. 'It wasn't even sexually driven. I had no interest in (redacted) but still I did it and I can't determine why.' Parkinson later on in the conversation allegedly went on to say he has suppressed 'it' for 22 years and has been in and out of therapy, the warrant affidavit said. He also went on to say that he could not apologize for what he did because it would lead to his arrest, according to the warrant affidavit. Screenshots of the conversation were turned over to state police investigators. Parkinson was held on a $250,000 bond following his arrest and was expected to appear in Norwich Superior Court on Monday.
