Professor resigns over adult-minor research in book

NORFOLK, Va. — A university professor in Virginia announced Wednesday they will resign in the wake of threats made over their recently published book, which includes interviews of more than 40 adults who are sexually attracted to minors.

The book argues that destigmatizing that attraction would allow more people to seek help and develop coping strategies against committing crimes and ultimately prevent child sexual abuse.

“That research was mischaracterized by some in the media and online, partly on the basis of my trans identity,” Old Dominion University professor Allyn Walker said in a statement.

“As a result, multiple threats were made against me and the campus community generally,” added Walker, who uses the pronoun “they.”

Walker’s book, “A Long, Dark Shadow, Minor-attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity,” drew little attention beyond academics when published in June. The book’s preface cited Walker’s time as a social worker who counseled victims of sexual assault, some of whom were children.

“I worry that my readers will somehow think that I am downplaying sexual abuse against children or that I am even trying to normalize it,” Walker wrote in the preface. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

The controversy at the state school of nearly 25,000 students comes at a time of growing concern surrounding academic freedom and the physical safety of professors as college campuses serve as battlegrounds in the nation’s culture wars.

Walker is an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice. This month, their research caught the attention of some media outlets, and the professor received threats that law enforcement told administrators to take seriously, university officials said.

An online petition calling for Walker’s removal received nearly 15,000 signatures.