An Ohio pastor who said that being LGBTQ+ is a “health risk” and that he became “sick” from reading gay romance has been charged with child rape. 

Silas Shelton, the 48-year-old pastor of Blanchester Community Church, has been arrested on four felony charges, including rape, sexual battery, unlawful sexual contact with a minor, and gross sexual imposition, the Wilmington Police Department announced last week. He is accused of having inappropriate sexual contact with a girl in the fall of 2019, when she was 14 or 15 and a member of his congregation, until as recently as a few months ago. 

Shelton spoke in front of the Little Miami Local School District board of education in August, 2023 about the graphic novel Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, which features LGBTQ+ characters and romance. He condemned the book’s inclusion in a book fair at his 12-year-old daughter’s school, saying “it isn’t a religion matter … It’s a health risk. It’s mental health.”

“I don’t think kids should ever question their sexuality. I don’t think kids should ever explore their sexuality. I don’t think any of that stuff ever ought to be in our school,” Shelton said. “But [my daughter] come home asking me why certain books were in that book fair, which were pertaining to books of gay. One of them was Heartstopper, which is where a gay boy pressures a straight kid into kissing him.”

“I don’t understand why we have this kind of stuff in our libraries, in our book fairs. … I’ll tell you, I got sick reading that stuff today,” he continued.

Shelton has pleaded not guilty as the investigation remains ongoing. He is currently being held on a $2 million bond in a Clinton County jail.

Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact police at 937-382-3833.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, the National Sexual Assault Hotline is available 24/7 with free and confidential services. More resources are available here. If you or someone you know has experienced trafficking, or if you suspect someone is a victim of trafficking, the National Human Trafficking Hotline is also available at 1-888-373-7888, toll-free and 24/7. For cases involving minors, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is available 24/7 at 1-800-843-5678.