MAGA pastor said LGBTQ+ books & flags harm kids. Now he's going to prison for 15 yrs for abusing a child.

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/06/pastor-said-lgbtq-books-flags-harm-kids-now-hes-going-to-for-with-a-child/


The judge sentenced him to the maximum prison term because he showed “no remorse” for his crimes.

Anti-LGBTQ+ MAGA pastor Silas H. Shelton of Wilmington, Ohio — a man who said that LGBTQ+-themed books and Pride flags harm kids — was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Monday for unlawful sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl. The judge said he gave Shelton the maximum sentence because he showed “no remorse” for his crimes during his trial.

Police originally arrested Shelton for 12 counts of rape, sexual battery, gross sexual imposition, and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. However, he ended up pleading guilty to three third-degree felony counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and will serve a combined 15 years in prison. Afterward, he’ll have to register as a Tier II sex offender every 6 months for the next 25 years, according to WKRC.


The abuse started in 2019 and involved a 14-year-old girl who belonged to Shelton’s congregation at Blanchester Community Church. The abuse reportedly did not stop until a few months before his arrest last October 16.

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In 2023, Shelton spoke before the Little Miami Local School District board to decry the availability of LGBTQ+ books in schools. He was specifically angry that his 12-year-old daughter had seen the LGBTQ+ graphic novel series Heartstopper by Alice Oseman available at a book fair.

“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.”