A sociology professor at a Virginia university who had said having a sexual attraction to minors isn’t wrong was placed on administrative leave Tuesday following public backlash.
Old Dominion University cited safety concerns and a disruption to campus life for its decision to place Allyn Walker, an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice, on administrative leave.
Video of Walker saying that there is “no morality or immorality attached to attraction to anyone” while discussing pedophiles had gone viral in recent days, prompting widespread public outrage.
UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR SAYS SEXUAL ATTRACTION TO MINORS ISN’T IMMORAL
“Reactions to Dr. Walker’s research and book have led to concerns for their safety and that of the campus,” the university said in a statement. “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.”
Walker, who identifies as nonbinary, wrote a book about “minor attracted persons” and made comments in an online conversation that had gone viral in which Walker said, “having an attraction to minors doesn’t mean the person having those attractions is doing something wrong.”
“We have a tendency to want to categorize people with these kind of attractions as evil or morally corrupt,” Walker said in the video. “But when we’re talking about nonoffending MAPs, these are people who have an attraction they didn’t ask for.”
In a statement provided to the Washington Examiner, ODU President Brian Hemphill said, “I want to state in the strongest terms possible that child sexual abuse is morally wrong and has no place in our society.”
“This is a challenging time for our University, but I am confident that we will come together and move forward as a Monarch family,” Hemphill said.
Walker had defended their research and comments, saying it was done with the goal of preventing crime after expressly stating that “child sexual abuse is an inexcusable crime.”
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“My work is informed by my past experience and advocacy as a social worker counseling victims,” Walker said. “I embarked on this research in hopes of gaining understanding of a group that, previously, has not been studied in order to identify ways to protect children.”
