LGBT group boots board president charged with child sex crimes
A Canadian LGBT pride group says it has removed its board president after his arrest on multiple charges of sex crimes involving children and child pornography.
The North Peace Pride Society (NPPS) of northern British Columbia released a statement on Jan. 5 announcing the removal of Sean Gravells following his arrest on Dec. 31.
Gravells, 39, faces charges which include touching a person under 16 for sexual purposes, sexual interference of a person under 16, possession of child pornography, and importing or distributing child pornography, according to CBC News.
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He served as board president of NPPS since 2018 and was recently removed.
NPPS said the group "delayed" its statement on Gravells "due to the sensitivity of the situation and privacy considerations."
"In response to the gravity of the charges, we have immediately removed this person from our board, emphasizing our commitment to our community's values," the statement reads.
NPPS acknowledged that "some board members work directly with youth through library programs" but that Gravell was "not among them" and clarified the LGBT organization has not been charged with any crime.
"We want to clarify that the society itself is not implicated in any charges; these are isolated to the individual," the group said.
NPPS pledged to subject "all board members to record checks to uphold the highest standards."
Gravells' name was not found in a search of the NPPS website Friday, but an archived version shared by independent journalist Andy Ngo showed a bio page with an image of Gravells in front of a rainbow-colored background.
In April 2022, Gravells and NPPS were involved in promoting signups for an all-ages drag show in Fort St. John, a city with about 21,500 residents located about 500 miles north of Vancouver.
Gravells was quoted as telling local outlet EnergeticCity.ca the group's effort to get young people to try performing in drag for the first time.
"We've got, potentially, a young person who's never tried drag before, but they really want to try," he told the outlet. "So we're going to help them out as much as we can with costumes, makeup. We can't do everything for them, but we can definitely provide some guidance."
An undated video shared on social media appeared to show Gravells interacting with kids at a local pride event.
Earlier last year, NPPS partnered with Fort St. John Public Library for several "Pride Teen Night" events open to kids as young as 13 years old.
The organization also advocates for sexual orientation as it pertains to "children's rights" and issued a statement last September in which it said NPPS is "committed to support [sexual orientation and gender identity] and children's rights, as it is instrumental for the healthy upbringing of all children regardless of sexual orientation or gender Identity."
Gravells reportedly made his first court appearance on Jan. 1. He was later released on $2,000 bail and is set to return to court on Jan. 29.
Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post and the author of BACKWARDS DAD: a children's book for grownups. He can be reached at: [email protected].
