Outraged Mom Alleges Book Promoting Sex at Church Camp Is in Classroom

A mom in Florida recently expressed outrage over a book that she alleges is in children's classrooms and promotes sexually explicit material at a church camp.

On October 17, the woman, identified as Julie Gebhards of Tampa, Florida, by the New York Post, appeared before the Hillsborough County school board meeting to speak about a book called Blankets, which she said contains "crass talk," including, "'Church camp is the best place to score p****,'" and other sexually explicit material.

"I'm here to report to you about the committee that met on September 18 about the book Blankets ... today I would like to specifically talk about the 15-page bedroom scene that was addressed in that book challenge that was filed," Gebhards said, according to a transcript of the meeting. "It includes erection, breast fondling, biting, tasting, oral copulation, stripping off clothes in heated passion, 22 images of the aroused couple, 10 images of her naked breasts."

Gebhards went on to show images from the book and claimed that it was currently in children's libraries, "here in Hillsborough County." Newsweek was unable to independently verify that the book is in classrooms or libraries within the school district. Newsweek reached out to the district via email for comment on Monday.

The remarks by the mother regarding the book arrived amid ongoing controversy over possible book bans in many Republican-led states.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis previously signed legislation in the state banning books in schools for children that included any sort of sexually explicit material.

"In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards. Florida is the education state and that means providing students with a quality education free from sexualization and harmful materials that are not age appropriate," DeSantis said in a press release this year.

Additionally, Scholastic also recently announced that it was offering schools a new "Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice" section for book fairs to avoid any issues relating to possible book bans.

"There is now enacted or pending legislation in more than 30 U.S. states prohibiting certain kinds of books from being in schools—mostly LGBTQIA+ titles and books that engage with the presence of racism in our country. Because Scholastic Book Fairs are invited into schools, where books can be purchased by kids on their own, these laws create an almost impossible dilemma: back away from these titles or risk making teachers, librarians, and volunteers vulnerable to being fired, sued, or prosecuted," Scholastic said in a press release.

Shortly after the woman's comments during the school board meeting, she was removed by a police officer. "This is in a library book in your classrooms," she said, before walking away from the microphone.