COLORADO SPRINGS — More than 200 parents in Academy School District 20 want a board member to be criminally charged for obscenity.
This comes after Derrick Wilburn read aloud a passage from a book they call explicit. It happened during a candidate forum at Chinook Trail Middle School in October.
"Fat (bleep), bucket (bleep), (bleep) pig (bleep). All you tell them mother(bleep) at the (bleep) hospital? I should kill you, she screamed at me," read Wilburn from a passage called 'Push.'
He read it in response to a student's question about how the board would ensure banning books wouldn't limit access to diverse educational literature.
A petition by a group called 'Concerned Parents of D20' is making its way to the District Attorney's office.
"There were a multitude of ways in some books might be offensive to some people, but instead he chose to do a performance piece and utter obscenities that horrified a number of people in the audience," said a group spokesperson Kat Gayle.
Wilburn did apologize to the crowd in advance for what they were about to hear.
"At that moment the parental rights of every parent in that room to protect their children from the words he uttered, he claims that he issued a warning he said something along the lines of, 'I haven't said these words for 30 years,' that is not a warning," said Gayle.
Former DA Dan May said it's not likely Wilburn would be charged criminally for this. "Obscenity Laws are so vague and First Amendment rights are so broad in that area."
In late November, the DA's office considered a petition to file charges over around 200 books in local public schools that petitioners found offensive, including 'Push.'
The DA's office ruled there wasn't enough evidence to pursue charges.
"I'm not sure the analysis is any different for what's written versus what said verbally," said May.
D20 officials say the book 'Push' isn't in any middle schools but is in two high school libraries.
In an email, Wilburn said he's going to, "refrain from commenting on the specific concerns raised by the petition."
"There's never been an apology issued. There has never been any acknowledgment that this behavior was inappropriate," said Gayle.
News5 will keep you updated on when the DA gets this petition and their response.
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