A university professor and author of anti-LGBTQ+ works has been charged with multiple sexual offences against children.

John Kent Tarwater, 55, of Greene County, Ohio has been charged with two counts of rape, three counts of sexual battery and three counts of gross sexual imposition. The allegations date from August 2019 to July 2025.

As reported by Dayton 24/7 Now, one alleged victim was under the age of 13 at the time in 2019.

Tarwater allegedly used force or threat of force to make the victim comply with his abuse.

Tarwater, who has denied all charges, had bail set at $1million, which his attorney Jay A Adams argued was more usual for murder cases. According to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, he is still in custody at the time of publication.

The man was “dismissed from his contract” at Cedarville University in October last year, as per the Daily Mail, after being placed on administrative leave in July after the university was told of the allegations.

The school’s associate vice president for human resources told the campus community via email: “Our understanding is that these charges do not involve anyone Dr Tarwater met or interacted with as a University professor … Even so, we desire to be transparent and ensure the safety of everyone on campus.”

Tarwater is set for a pre-trial hearing on 28 April, before a jury trial will begin in June.

Anti-LGBT teachings

As per The Roys Report, Tarwater, who is believed to be a dad of 10, has published a number of works on so-called Christian sexual ethics.

One, published in 2005, was titled “Marriage as Covenant: Considering God’s Design at Creation and the Contemporary Moral Consequences”.

In 2021, he wrote “Business Ethics in the Marketplace: Exploring Transgenderism” for Journal of Markets & Morality. In it, he wrote: “If the transgender argument continues to take root in culture as it has begun to do so in the courts and legislatures, it will have devastating effects in both the church and the marketplace where Christians will be subjected to public criticism and further legal battles.”

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