School principal who banned LGBT+ books indicted over child abuse images

A former headteacher who tried to ban a string of books over LGBT+ themes has been indicted on charges of possessing child sex abuse imagery.

Phillip Todd Wilson faces 17 charges that were approved by a Kentucky grand jury on Tuesday.

They relate to images portraying sexual activity by a child under 16, according to WKYT, a CBS affiliate station.

The broadcaster also reported that Mr Wilson had been the principal of the Clark County area technology centre, which was located on a high school campus.

Previously, the 54-year-old was the headteacher of Montgomery County high school, NBC News reported.

While there he led an effort to ban a number of books containing LGBT-related themes and references to drugs, sex, suicide and child abuse, which he and others deemed inappropriate.

Four books were successfully pulled from school shelves, reports said.

In August, when Mr Wilson was arrested, one of the authors wrote on Facebook: “I am having a lot of feelings right now. As I said to some friends last night when I got the news, ‘You can’t make this s**t up’.”

During an earlier court appearance, Mr Wilson denied the charges against him, WKYT reported.