TDSB trustee Sam Sotiropoulos suggests the Pride parade is a haven for nudist pedophiles

TDSB trustee Sam Sotiropoulos suggests the Pride parade is a haven for nudist pedophiles

(Images: Sotiropoulos: Sam Sotiropoulos/Facebook; parade: Renato Lorini)

When TDSB trustee Sam Sotiropoulos launched his ultimately unsuccessful bid to ban nudity at the Toronto Pride parade, his rationale was that all public nudity is against the law (which is debatable) and, more importantly, that all the exposed flesh raises “questions of age-appropriateness for TDSB students and their families.” We guessed that it was only a matter of time before he started suggesting that some parade participants are pedophiles. Sometimes, being absolutely right is just the worst.

“Can you tell me definitely that all those people who are going about nude are gay?” Sotiropoulos asked Newstalk 1010 host Jim Richards during an April 11 radio interview. “Can you definitely guarantee to me that there may not be a kiddy-diddler mixed up among them?”

When pressed by Richards, Sotiropoulos didn’t elaborate on his suggestion that some parade participants may be pedophiles. “There is a law, Jim,” he said, “and protecting [students] from watching the law being broken is a legitimate concern.”

Equating homosexuality with pedophilia is the 21st-century equivalent of suggesting that Passover matzoh is full of kiddie blood. It’s a lurid accusation, as irresistible to bigots as it is utterly false. Sotiropoulos stopped just short of making that dangerous connection, but how long can this guy possibly go on as a politician before he mires himself in a controversy so deep that no amount of I-am-not-a-homophobe robocalls (yes, he actually did that) can make it go away?