Headmaster Who Taped Students' Mouth Shut Says The Children Bullied Their Teacher Into Tears

A Louisiana headmaster who was arrested for taping childrens' mouths shut for talking too much in class defended his actions Monday saying the students were punished after they bullied their teacher into tears.

Pastor John Raymond, founder of Lakeside Christian Academy in Slidell and an elected member of the Louisiana Republican Party governing board, was arrested last week on three counts of cruelty to juveniles for the incident that happened on March 18, USA Today reported.

Raymond, a former Survivor contestant, said a seventh-grade teacher came to his office crying and threatening to quit after her students disrupted her class repeatedly by talking. The students who were accused of bullying their teacher were then taken to a hallway where Raymond explained to them that the school would not be tolerating continued disruptive behavior.

When the students were given a choice of having their mouths closed with tape or school suspension, they volunteered to have their mouths taped, the pastor said, according to a detailed statement published on the school's website.

"The students all chose tape and I pulled off one piece at a time and carefully placed it over their mouths making sure that it did not touch their noses or interfere with their breathing. At no time was tape wrapped around any student’s head," Raymond said.

The school's principal later told Raymond that she did not feel comfortable with his actions and the tapes were removed from the students' mouths within 45 minutes.

"None of the students were harmed in any way from the tape being put on or taken off. Never did any student indicate they had experienced any discomfort," Raymond claimed.

However, according to the criminal complaint, the tape was wrapped around the students’ heads, and they had to be removed with a pair of scissors, NY Post reported.

Meanwhile, Raymond asserted that the school has zero-tolerance for bullying. "We have a zero-tolerance bully policy at Lakeside. This means students cannot bully each other or bully the teachers. We are serious about protecting both our students and our teachers," he added.