Sir Topham Hatt from the beloved children's show 'Thomas the Tank Engine' is reportedly on the run from the law this morning after it was learned he's at the center of a vast, 20+ year "deviant pornography" ring.
Sir Hatt was questioned last year when he was suspected of possession of illicit material. That investigation was set off after Hatt mistakenly sent a solicitation email to a Sodor woman identified only as Mrs Kyndley. Hatt denied any knowledge of the email at that time and claimed that his account must have been hacked.
Authorities theorized that Hatt had meant the email for another recipient found in his contacts, a Mrs. Kyddie, who investigators believe is another high-ranking member of the ring.
Sir Topham Hatt is affectionately known by his associates and co-workers as "The Fat Controller". A spokesperson for his employer The North Western Railway expressed shock and sadness at the latest developments but declined to get into further details regarding Hatt's record as an employee at the railway.
We did however speak with anonymous sources from the railway who told us of one incident in June, 2017, when there was a rather ugly encounter involving Hatt and a senior member of the engine team known as Diesel-10, who claimed that Hatt made unwanted advances and had touched him inappropriately. All charges were dropped however after Hatt's attorneys argued successfully that "Diesel-10 is just a diesel engine with human aspirations.
After the court's decision Diesel-10 fell apart - literally, and has not been in one piece seen since. The show's reclusive star Thomas did not seem disappointed at these developments and was heard remarking in reference to Diesel-10, "good riddance to bad rubbish!" It seems to be common among Sodorites and those close to the show that Thomas and Diesel-10 are not the best of friends.
Another incident from an anonymous source involved Hatt and his former assistant and "right-hand man" Mr Arkwright. Arkwright claimed his boss (Hatt) had abused him physically and said Hatt made a habit of knocking him over and sitting on top of him during tea time in a rather perverse ritual.
The Island of Sodor is abuzz over the latest events. Mr. Percival, aka The Thin Controller told us he is "not at all surprised" and believes Hatt is "guilty of all charges and more".
We're told that both The Vicar and The Fat Clergyman are also being sought for questioning.
A woman who identified herself as Dowager Hatt stood outside the Hatt home as we arrived and through her tears told us but was unable to speak with us. It is speculated the woman is the mother of Hatt, but that has not been confirmed.
Law enforcement authorities told us they are waiting for the end of the school day when Kiddie Police will be available to verify more of the specifics,
Authorities are currently searching Hatt's residence as well as the railway engine barns for evidence. Mrs. Hatt who did not want to speak with us was last seen riding off on Gordon, another rather spiffy, and reportedly "quite cheeky" tank engine.
Police are asking the public to be on the lookout for Hatt. "At this point he could be anywhere" Danny the Desk Sergeant told us just before they rolled the closing credits.
