In a stark contrast between public advocacy and private behavior, a Missouri man who actively campaigned to ban LGBTQ books from a Kansas City school district has been charged with child molestation, shedding light on the complexities surrounding the fight over literary content and the character of its challengers.
Ryan Utterback, a 29-year-old parent from a suburb of Kansas City, now faces a felony charge of second-degree child molestation, a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree domestic assault, and a separate misdemeanor for furnishing or attempting to furnish pornographic material to a minor. These allegations emerge from separate incidents, with court documents detailing that Utterback inappropriately touched a 12-year-old girl and rubbed a teenager’s leg under her jeans in 2020 and is accused of showing pornographic video to a child beginning when the child was around 4 years old in 2021. Utterback awaits his next court appearance on March 10. David Bell, his attorney, declined to comment on the record.
His legal entanglements have gained national attention due to his efforts to remove books from the North Kansas City Schools’ libraries, citing their depiction of sexual acts. During a school board meeting in October, Utterback aided James Richmond, president of the Northland Parent Association, in a presentation against books like the graphic memoir “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” and “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” arguing that such materials were tantamount to “solicitation of a minor.”
The irony of Utterback’s charges juxtaposed against his public stance on LGBTQ content in schools is not lost on the community. A local resident, Parker Christian, expressed this irony bluntly and even initiated a petition to have Utterback’s bond revoked, albeit the request was denied. George M. Johnson, the author of one of the targeted books, “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” highlighted this paradox further, suggesting that books like theirs provided education on the very threats that the charges against Utterback represent.
Amid the controversy, book ban advocates often cite parental rights and the desire to shield their children from content they deem inappropriate. Yet, the pushback from students and the community at large underscores a prevailing sentiment that such bans do not serve the protective role they purport to. Kansas City LGBTQ advocate Justice Horn poignantly remarked on the situation, stating, “The moral of this story is that book bans do not protect children. Moreover, the people pushing book bans are not protecting children, and every lawmaker should take note.”
Notably, LGBTQ-inclusive books have been subject to frequent challenges. Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, noted an unsettling increase in such challenges in recent years, stating, “I’ve worked at ALA for two decades now, and I’ve never seen this volume of challenges come in.”
While the North Kansas City Schools declined to comment on Utterback’s situation, the larger debate continues on what constitutes appropriate educational material and who gets to make those decisions. As book ban advocates like Utterback face their own legal battles, the North Kansas City students who resisted the censorship efforts are recognized as the “heroes” of this narrative by Horn, as they “are ensuring none of our stories are erased.”
Relevant articles:
– Man who tried to ban LGBTQ books from schools now faces child molestation charge
– Man behind book ban effort charged with child molestation, WDAF FOX4 Kansas City, Mon, 07 Feb 2022 08:00:00 GMT
– Missouri man who advocated for LGBTQ+ book ban faces child molestation, pornography charges, The Hill, Wed, 02 Feb 2022 08:00:00 GMT
– Ryan Utterback, LGBTQ Book Ban Advocate Charged With Child Molestation, All That’s Interesting, Tue, 24 May 2022 07:00:00 GMT