Sutherland, who had worked as a librarian at Northview Elementary School in the city of Bowie, was charged in June 2022 with hate crimes and vandalism after he allegedly wrote “groomer” on the front entrance of local libraries. At the time, the Washington, DC, area was celebrating Pride. Sutherland’s hate crime case is ongoing, and his attorney did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News.
Sutherland had allegedly confessed to having child sex abuse materials on his laptop, and a forensics examination of Sutherland’s laptop found seven files of child sex abuse materials, WUSA9 reported. In recent years, far-right activists have targeted libraries for including books about the LGBTQ community and
. Libraries across the country have faced violent threats, and teachers, librarians, or others who speak about LGBTQ issues have been accused of attempting to “groom” children for sexual abuse. Sutherland is next set to appear in court for the child sex abuse materials charges in April and in August for the hate crime charges, according to court records.