The New York Post:
A Virginia university has placed an assistant professor on administrative leave after the educator sparked heated backlash for saying it isn’t necessarily immoral for adults to be sexually attracted to children.
Allyn Walker, who teaches sociology and criminal justice at Old Dominion University, made the controversial comment while discussing “minor-attracted persons” and pedophiles during a Nov. 8 interview with the Prostasia Foundation, a San Francisco-based child protection organization.
Walker, who uses the pronouns they/them, was discussing “their” book, “A Long Dark Shadow: Minor-Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity,” when they insisted it’s important to use that terminology instead of “pedophile” because it’s less stigmatizing.
In a statement Tuesday, the school said it placed Walker on administrative leave.
“Reactions to Dr. Walker’s research and book have led to concerns for their safety and that of the campus. Furthermore, the controversy over Dr. Walker’s research has disrupted the campus and community environment and is interfering with the institution’s mission of teaching and learning,” it said.
“I want to state in the strongest terms possible that child sexual abuse is morally wrong and has no place in our society,” ODU President Brian Hemphill said in an accompanying statement.
