A Missouri man who pushed a school board to ban books by LGBTQ+ authors because he claimed the content was “inappropriate for children” has been arrested for child molestation and giving pornographic material to a minor.
Ryan Utterback, 29, was among a group of parents of the North Kansas City Public School District last fall who advocated for the school library to ban books that describe “sexual acts.”
According to reports, Utterback faces a wave of charges including a felony charge of second-degree child molestation, misdemeanor domestic assault, and giving pornographic material to a minor.
Utterback is accused of fondling a 12-year-old in December 2020 and in a separate incident, put his fingers through a hole in a teen’s jean to rub their bare leg.
“Our books TEACH & give resources to kids about predators like him,” All Boys Aren’t Blue author, George M. Johnson, wrote on Twitter.
Johnson’s book, like other Black and LGBTQ+ authors, has come under attack as school boards around the country rush to snatch material off the shelves.
Authors, students, and parents are fighting back, though, forming book clubs and getting policies reversed.
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