Pastor who taped children’s mouths says students bullied teacher

A Louisiana school headmaster who taped five students’ mouths shut for speaking too a lot is defending his steps, saying the youngsters experienced bullied their teacher.

Pastor John Raymond, founder of Lakeside Christian Academy in Slidell and a former “Survivor” contestant, launched a lengthy statement Monday in reaction to his arrest previous week on three counts of cruelty to juveniles.

Raymond said the young children “showed comprehensive disregard” by disrupting their seventh-quality course with incessant chatting, but none of them had been harmed by the unorthodox willpower he doled out on March 18.

Their trainer, having said that, experienced absent to the place of work sobbing and threatened to give up over their alleged classroom antics, he mentioned.

Raymond took the disruptive students to a hallway and gave them a option to have their mouths taped shut with Scotch packing tape or be suspended, he stated.

“The learners all chose tape and I pulled off one particular piece at a time and diligently placed it above their mouths building absolutely sure I did not touch their nose or interfere with their respiration,” Raymond mentioned. “At no time was tape wrapped about any student’s head.”

The learners collectively indicated no when asked if their respiratory was constricted, Raymond reported. The school’s principal afterwards explained to him she was not “very comfortable” with his actions, which he forcefully defended Monday.

“We have a zero-tolerance bully plan at Lakeside,” Raymond mentioned. “This usually means students cannot bully just about every other or bully the academics. We are major about defending the two our college students and our instructors.”

5 teen boys have been associated altogether, such as 3 whose mothers and fathers made a decision to push charges, Raymond explained.

“The other two learners have been attending university as usual,” Raymond said. “Their mother and father are completely supportive of the self-discipline that took put. In truth, yet another one particular of these dad and mom has because utilized to work at our school and is now on personnel.”

Around two weeks later on, a criticism was submitted with cops and an arrest warrant for Raymond was issued, prompting him to surrender to authorities.

“We like all of our learners at Lakeside and try to maintain a risk-free and effective discovering surroundings,” Raymond’s statement continued. “Building character in teenage boys can be tricky.”

Raymond insisted the tape was on the boys’ mouths for no lengthier than 10 minutes in advance of it was eradicated.

“No student was at any time dealt with with cruelty or harmed in any way,” he mentioned.

Slidell law enforcement introduced costs from Raymond on Thursday. The college students returned to course for about 45 minutes in advance of a different administrator “felt uncomfortable” with the matter and eliminated the tape.

“Due to the reality the tape was wrapped about the students’ head, it experienced to be removed with a pair of scissors,” cops explained in a statement. “During the experience, the pupils assert they had trouble respiration and that the elimination system was distressing.”

In 2002, Raymond appeared as a contestant on CBS’ “Survivor: Thailand.” The New Orleans native was reportedly the to start with man or woman voted off the island that season. He’s also an elected member of the Louisiana Republican Social gathering governing board, the Lafayette Daily Advertiser claimed.