A former news anchor from Louisiana has stepped down in disgrace following a false report made by a rival anchor alleging he sought sexual interactions with minors. Now, the subject of the report is pursuing legal action with a lawsuit.

Bill Lunn, 59, an Emmy-winning journalist who previously worked as an anchor and news director for KTBS, an ABC affiliate, became the center of controversy in June 2024. Dan Jovic, a 48-year-old anchor from a competing Louisiana station NBC affiliate KTAL, allegedly reported that Lunn was exposed by a ‘vigilante’ group targeting individuals seeking illicit encounters with minors. Though Lunn was never arrested, he resigned before the news story was broadcasted.

In the lawsuit filed against Dan Jovic, his co-anchor wife Jacquelyn Jovic, and Nexstar, the parent company of KTAL, Lunn is accusing them of defamation and is demanding compensation for the damage done to his reputation and career.

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According to the lawsuit, which was reviewed by Law&Crime, Lunn alleged that Dan Jovic pursued the story about the “self-described predator hunters” despite the lack of evidence that Lunn was engaging in predatory behavior. In fact, Lunn says, evidence made it clear that Lunn was using a dating app that only allowed adult users.

The lawsuit stated that Lunn maintained an account on Tinder, which has a minimum age requirement of 18 years old in order to sign up. In his story for KTAL, Dan Jovic said that Lunn was allegedly communicating with a 15-year-old girl on the MeetMe app, which has a minimum age requirement of 13 years old. The lawsuit said that Dan Jovic was in possession of a screenshot of Lunn’s Tinder profile.

The lawsuit stated that Lunn — who was not married at the time — was in contact with a woman named “Jasmine,” who indicated she was 19 years old. In text messages provided as evidence in the lawsuit, “Jasmine” subsequently edited the message that stated “I’m 19” to read “I’m 16.” Users of iPhones are able to see if messages were edited, and a screenshot of the edited message appears in the lawsuit.

However, “Jasmine,” whether she was 19 or 16 years old, apparently never existed. The messages Lunn received were from a group of adult men — Antonio Coleman, Kameron Kennon, and Kataurio Grigsby — who ran an operation that they told Dan Jovic was designed to “catch child predators.”

According to the lawsuit, Lunn made plans to meet “Jasmine” at her home after they exchanged a few sexually explicit messages, which included photos of Lunn that would prove embarrassing for him. When he arrived at the address he was provided, he was greeted by a woman he believed was “Jasmine,” but she was really Laura Robinson, a friend of the vigilante trio.

Lunn went inside the home and was allegedly “beaten and robbed of his belongings” by all three men. After he was able to escape the alleged attack, Lunn screamed for help and a neighbor called 911. Another neighbor rushed to Lunn’s aid and let him use their phone to call the police.

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Shreveport Police officers arrived at the address and questioned Coleman and Robinson while Lunn sat in the back of a squad car. Police retrieved Lunn’s belongings, and Lunn handed over his phone to be analyzed. When he looked at his messages again, Lunn noticed that the message with the woman’s age had been edited.

Lunn was never placed under arrest or charged with any crime. He also let his family, friends, and employer know about the incident after he was allowed to leave the scene.

A few days later, Dan Jovic texted his source at the Shreveport Police Department asking if Lunn “was caught with a 14-year-old girl and ran from the police.” He was later told by an officer that Lunn had not run from police and was not arrested. Dan Jovic was told that the investigation was ongoing.

With that information, the lawsuit stated, Dan Jovic then began pursuing the story and “rushed” to interview the three men.

What followed, the lawsuit stated, was a sensationalist news story full of falsehoods and exaggerations that made Lunn look like a foiled child sex predator and cost the veteran newsman his career, family, and reputation. Knowing the story was about to break, Lunn resigned from his position at KTBS.

Dan Jovic’s story — which was introduced by Jacquelyn Jovic during its broadcast — “suspended all critical analysis, assessment, and logic in service of an unbelievable story from three young men who admitted to deception and criminal activity,” the lawsuit said. The report, according to the lawsuit, was delivered “with gusto” by Dan and Jacquelyn Jovic with the intent to “shock and titillate, with the damage including the demise of a prominent market competitor.”

Mere days after the June 3, 2024 broadcast, Coleman and Grigsby were arrested after they allegedly participated in a “strikingly similar” operation to the one they allegedly executed on Lunn. The lawsuit said that the alleged modus operandi was to target “rich guys” on dating apps with the goal of robbing them. According to the lawsuit, Coleman and Grigsby were arrested “multiple times” between May 29 and Sept. 9, 2024, in connection to their vigilante operations — after which they “never” turned their targets over to law enforcement.

Coleman and Grigsby are currently awaiting trial on several felony charges including armed robbery, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, and access device fraud.

Lunn’s career never recovered, and the lawsuit stated that because of the false allegations made in Dan Jovic’s story, he has faced “vulgar” threats and experienced a decline in his mental health, including “depression and suicidal ideation.”

According to the Caddo Parish Clerk of Court, the defendants have not yet responded to the lawsuit. Law&Crime reached out to an attorney representing Lunn as well as the Jovics but did not receive an immediate response.