Clark County principal who previously banned LGBT books indicted on child porn charges

The principal of the Clark County Area Technology Center has been indicted on multiple child pornography charges, according to court records.

Phillip Todd Wilson, of Winchester, previously made headlines in 2009 when he, as principal of Montgomery County High School, banned books with “homosexual content” in the classroom.

The author of one of those books said after Wilson’s arrest that “you can’t make this s*** up.”

He was arrested in August by Kentucky State Police and was charged with 15 counts each of child porn possession and distribution, but a grand jury indicted him on fewer charges. Instead of 30, he now faces 17 charges, court records show.

According to the Winchester Sun, an individual told a school resource officer that he or she received 15 images through text messages and social media from Wilson. Wilson later admitted to sending images to two females, the Sun reported.

The tech center is operated by the Kentucky Department of Education Office of Career and Technical Education, but the center is housed in the George Rogers Clark High School building. The tech center offers high school vocational courses.

A Clark County school district statement in August said it was “shocked and dismayed” over Wilson’s arrest and the allegations against him.

“The Clark County Public School System remains committed to the safety and security of its teachers and students,” the statement said.

Wilson posted a $25,000 bond after his arrest, according to court records. He is no longer in the Clark County Detention Center.

Wilson, 54, successfully fought to ban several books in 2009 that parents claimed covered topics such as sex, child abuse and drug use. The books included classics, such as “The Canterbury Tales” and “Beowulf,” along with Jo Knowles’ “Lessons from a Dead Girl.” Knowles wrote following Wilson’s arrest that she was a “very new author” when her book was banned at the Montgomery County school and said the “press coverage was overwhelming.”

“I am having a lot of feelings right now,” she said in August. “As I said to some friends last night when I got the news, ‘You can’t make this s*** up.’”

Knowles said Wilson banned her book because of “homosexual and other inappropriate content.”

Another woman whose book was banned, Laurie Halse Anderson, said she wrote in a 2009 op-ed in Wilson’s hometown newspaper that “anyone who finds the rape of a 14-year-old sexually exciting has serious problems.”

“Poisonous leaders use their power to protect their evil,” she wrote in August on Twitter.

This story was originally published November 12, 2019 at 12:10 PM.