Book controversy raises uproar in tiny Texas town

Popular English teacher Kaleb Tierce of Jim Ned High School in Tuscola, Texas, has been placed on paid leave and faces possible criminal charges after a student's parents complained to police about a book on the ninth-grade class reading list, according to a report by Associated Press writer Angela K. Brown appearing on the ABC News website.

The book in question, Child of God by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Cormac McCarthy, tells the story of a murderer who has sex with his victims' bodies. Tierce, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing, is being investigated for allegedly distributing harmful material to a minor. That is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Students and parents have rushed to Tierce's defense. School officials have since removed the book from the ninth-grade reading list. For further details, visit the ABC News website.