On Thursday, Philip Todd Wilson, a former Kentucky high school principal, was indicted on 11 counts of “possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor and six counts of promoting a sexual performance by a minor.” Each count could land him in prison for one to five years. He had been arrested in August.
But the reason his arrest and indictment are particularly noteworthy is for what he did about a decade ago. In 2009, Wilson opposed the inclusion of LGBTQ-themed young adult novels on an optional reading list for an English class. One of the parents on his side referred to one of the books as “soft pornography” because they depicted sex. (The Bible, of course, is far more graphic and disturbing.)
If his stated goal was protecting kids, though, that’s clearly not what he’s been up to ever since. He sent illicit images of children to two people, and that’s only what he’s been caught doing.
Wilson is currently free on bond.
It’s all bittersweet news for author Laurie Halse Anderson, whose book Twisted had been removed from the reading list due to Wilson’s purge. She wrote on Twitter, “Poisonous leaders use their power to protect their evil.”
A man tried to ban Speak from school & public libraries in 2009 cuz it was "pornographic." I wrote an op-ed in his newspaper & said anyone who finds the rape of a 14-year-old sexually exciting has serious problems.
Poisonous leaders use their power to protect their evil.@OIF https://t.co/4GwT2S5lJ1
— Laurie Halse Anderson (@halseanderson) August 28, 2019
It’s a fair point. Wilson seems perfectly fine exploiting children, but he refuses to condone books that help kids on the cusp of adulthood by discussing mature issues in a way that’s supportive and healthy. Let’s hope Wilson has several years behind bars to reflect on that.
