A drag mom and former elementary school teacher has been sentenced to less than a year in prison after being convicted of child molestation.
Kelsey Meta Boren, 31, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of encouraging first-degree child sexual abuse last month.
She previously worked as a teacher for Oregon’s Fern Ridge School District, but was suspended after the allegations came to light last year.
Before her arrest, she regularly posted multiple photos of herself with an 11-year-old girl on her Instagram, claiming to be her “drag mom.”
Boren was sentenced to 330 days in jail by the Lane County Circuit Court in March, which equates to 30 days for each charge.
Kelsey Meta Boren, 31, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of encouraging first-degree child sexual abuse. She previously said she was Vanellope’s drag mom
Authorities say she was arrested in August 2022 after officers executed a search warrant at her home in Veneta.
Court documents show that they found evidence that she had uploaded and exchanged child pornography on the Internet on multiple occasions.
One count of using a child in engaging in sexually explicit conduct was dismissed by the court.
Boren was part of a drag queen event in October 2022, two months after she was arrested, which protesters strongly opposed.
Protesters against the event faced supporters outside the venue, Old Nick’s Pub, which is named after Satan and also hosts adult fetish nights.
Some protesters on both sides of the roughly 200-strong standoff were armed, police said, including semi-automatic rifles.
The event went ahead anyway – although the child performer, whose stage name is Vanellope MacPherson DuPont, did not take the stage as planned.
Dramatic footage of the protests showed angry protesters firing ‘lobes’, including smoke grenades, at the rival crowd.
An earlier Facebook post from the pub to promote the event said: ‘Vanellope is here to show you what an 11-year-old drag queen can do
Supporters of the event chanted “go home Nazis” and carried a banner that read, “Protect trans youth.”
Meanwhile, counter-demonstrators had put up a sign that read, “What kind of monster is exposing children to this?”
An earlier Facebook post from the pub to promote the event read: ‘Vanellope is here to show you what an 11-year-old drag queen can do.
“With all the charm and sweetness of a bowl of sweet cereal, Vanellope is here to brighten up your morning with all her drag talent.”
The post received a mixture of criticism and support, with a statement from Vanellope’s family and friends claiming that the relationship with Boren was strictly “professional” and that they only met “maybe four or five times.”
The statement added, “Meta-Boren was not a family friend nor was she ever a mentor to V in the drag world.
“They also haven’t had any contact since before covid, and all ties have been severed since Meta-Boren’s arrest in August.”
Some protesters were armed with semi-automatic rifles during the standoff outside the event
Vanellope also has another handler, Sunshine Ray MacPherson – real name Jennifer Hibbs – who is a drag performer and distanced herself from Boren
Tense confrontations outside Old Nick’s Pub in Oregon where the drag story event took place
Vanellope also has another handler, Sunshine Ray MacPherson – real name Jennifer Hibbs – who is a drag performer and distanced herself from Boren.
Old Nick’s pub has claimed opposition to dragging narrative events a ‘targeted agenda’ to ‘advance anti-LGBTQ legislation’.
It has also said, ‘Drag is an art form. The idea that it is inherently sexual is a form of intolerance.”
Old Nick’s has also previously hosted $10 a ticket fetish nights, with past events advertising “impact play,” “rope suspension,” and “electric play.”