Jon Gosselin Mulls Legal Action after ‘Plus 8’ Editor Arrested for Child Porn

Jon Gosselin is reportedly preparing to take legal action against TLC after news broke that a prominent film editor for the reality show Jon & Kate Plus 8 was arrested for sexually exploiting a minor.

William Blankinship, 56, was arrested on October 21 in North Carolina as part of the State Bureau Investigation sting known as Operation Spyglass. A total of 24 men were charged with felonies for the possession and distribution of child pornography and/or sexual acts with a minor.

Blankinship's resume boasts work on four TLC programs, including Jon & Kate Plus 8, Kate Plus 8, and 17 Kids and Counting.

Radar Online reports that Blankinship was charged with 10 counts of sex exploit of minor (3^rd) 14-1, meaning he possessed material that contained visual representations of a minor engaging in sexual activity.

While Blankinship was a subcontractor and never directly employed by TLC (a fact the channel was quick to point out), he did have unprecedented access to the shows' footage.

Gosselin and TLC have been at odds before. TLC had Jon up against a legal wall when he attempted to break contract and do media appearances. Now, Gosselin has a legitimate reason to sue back.

The reality star met Blankinship several times during production and was reportedly distressed about the access the man had to raw footage of his kids.

My first thought when I heard this was, 'Oh my God!' Gosselin told Star magazine in an exclusive interview (with excerpts available from Radar Online). I'm sure everyone working on the show is shocked and never expected something like this.

I've contacted an attorney, he said. I'm trying to gather all the information from authorities in North Carolina to see if there is any evidence he has footage of our family or if he has distributed it.

Gosselin said camera crews shot the family getting ready for bed, being showered, and being changed. He's terrified that this footage could be distributed in some underground market and is desperately trying to protect his children - 10-year-old twins Cara and Mady, and 7-year-old sextuplets Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Colin, Leah, and Joel.

Gosselin told Star that he had not contacted his ex-wife Kate about the situation but would write her an email.

So far, Kate's been silent on the matter (not even a comment on Twitter!).

Last week, Figure 8 Films, who contracted Blankinship for Plus 8, issued a statement insisting that the editor never had contact with the children.

Bill Blankinship was employed by Serious Robots, with whom Figure 8 Films subcontract for editing services. Upon learning of the shocking allegations, his employment was terminated, Figure 8 Films said in a statement.

At no time was this man ever in the field or in direct contact with any of the talent for any of our productions, Figure 8 Films added.