(October 22, 2007)--An English teacher in Tuscola has been placed on paid leave and faces possible criminal charges in a book dispute.

A student's parents complained to law officers that a ninth-grade class reading list contained a 1974 book about a murderer who has sex with the bodies of his victims.

Twenty-five-year-old teacher Kaleb Tierce is being investigated for allegedly distributing harmful material to a minor.

The student selected Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Cormac McCarthy's "Child of God" off the list and read it.

Tierce is a third-year teacher and assistant football coach at Jim Ned High School.

The Associated Press reports his case has caused an uproar in the Abilene-area town of 700.

Last week, more than 120 parents and students crowded into a meeting where the school board voted to keep Tierce on paid leave.

AP reports most parents say Tierce should be reinstated, regardless of whether the book is too graphic for teens.

Tierce, who has not been charged, declined comment to AP.

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