Former Principal Who Banned LGBTQ-Themed Books Indicted On Child Porn Charges
WINCHESTER, Ky. (CBS Local) -- A former Kentucky school principal who made headlines 10 years ago for trying to ban classroom books with "homosexual" content has been indicted on child pornography charges.
Phillip Todd Wilson, 54, of Winchester, was arrested on 30 charges of child pornography-related offenses in August, but a grand jury indicted him on fewer charges, 17 in all, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported Tuesday.
Wilson was principal of the Clark County Area Technology Center, which offers high school vocational courses and is on the campus of George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester.
A spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education, which oversees the technology center, said Wilson "is no longer an employee of the Department of Education."
He was a principal of a Montgomery County high school when he made headlines for banning books in the classroom. Now a Clark County grand jury has indicted him on child-porn charges. #Kentucky https://t.co/abZd03PvJf
— Lexington Herald-Leader (@heraldleader) November 12, 2019
In 2009, Wilson was the principal of Montgomery County High School in Mount Sterling when he was part of an effort to remove several young-adult novels that parents claimed covered topics such as sex, child abuse and drug use.
The four books challenged were "Twisted" by Laurie Halse Anderson, "Deadline" by Chris Crutcher, "Lessons from a Dead Girl" by Jo Knowles and "Unwind" by Neal Shusterman.
The novels were listed as optional reading in English classes, but eventually pulled from the curriculum.
Knowles, who said her book was banned "for 'homosexual and other inappropriate content'" wrote on Facebook following Wilson's arrest, "You can't make this s*** up."