A Louisiana pastor was arrested after taping his students’ mouths shut as a disciplinary measure.
Police in Slidell, Louisiana, arrested John Raymond, who is also a Christian schoolmaster and former Survivor contestant, on Thursday for three counts of cruelty to juveniles.
The 60-year-old headmaster of Lakeside Christian School became angry with five students for “excessive talking,” brought them to his office, and “took a roll of packing tape and taped the students’ mouths shut by wrapping the tape around their heads,” according to a press statement from the Slidell Police Department.
The students were sent back to the class, where they were left taped up for around 45 minutes, officials said. One of the teachers became concerned and removed the tape from the students’ faces with scissors when one of the students claimed to have trouble breathing, police added.
PATRIARCH KIRILL FACES RISK OF EXPULSION FROM COUNCIL OVER PUTIN SUPPORT
Raymond disputed the police narrative, saying the students had engaged in “repeated disruptive behavior” that distressed the teacher to the point of seeking termination, according to a statement on the school’s website.
The pastor told the students “they could not disrespect the teacher and cause her emotional grief, nor would [he] allow them to rob their classmates of an effective learning environment,” and he offered the students a choice of wearing tape on their mouths or suspension, according to the school. All of the students chose tape, according to Raymond.
The tape was just Scotch tape and was only placed on the boys’ lips, not wrapped around their heads, which should not impair breathing, Raymond claimed.
While three of the boys’ parents pressed for charges of “cruelty to juveniles,” the parents of the other two boys were “completely supportive” of the discipline, Raymond said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Raymond made an appearance on the fifth season of Survivor in 2002, according to IMDB. He was also the first contestant voted off that season.
Representatives from Slidell Police Department did not respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
