- A Louisiana pastor was charged after being accused of taping students' mouths.
- Rev. John Raymond was charged with three counts of cruelty to juveniles.
- The former "Survivor" contestant defended his actions in a recent statement, the Lafayette Daily Advertiser reported.
A Louisiana pastor and former "Survivor" contestant doubled down on his decision to tape the mouths of students he says were bullying a teacher.
Rev. John Raymond, the founder of Lakeside Christian Academy, was charged with three counts of cruelty to juveniles last week, the Lafayette Daily Advertiser reported.
According to the report, Raymond released a statement on Sunday, April 10, explaining what happened during the incident that occurred last month, and emphasizing that the students were not hurt when he applied the tape to their mouths.
In the statement, the headmaster said a 7th-grade teacher was crying and ready to quit her job due to "the repeated disruptive behavior of her students." As a result, Raymond said that he gave the group of students the option to have the clear Scotch tape placed on their mouths or face suspension.
"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 nose or interfere with their breathing, the headmaster said.: At no time was tape wrapped around any student's head."
The statement continued: "After the tape was applied, I asked all the students 'Are any of you in pain or hurting in any way?' They unanimously shook their heads no. I asked, 'Can you all breathe normally?' They unanimously shook their heads yes. At any time, the students could have easily removed the tape by simply pulling it off."
Raymond said when he told the principal about what he did, the principal expressed that they were not comfortable with the situation. Both Raymond and the principal called the students out of class and took the tape off. He noted that the tape came off "in under ten minutes."
"We have a zero-tolerance bully policy at Lakeside," Raymond said in the statement. "This means students cannot bully each other or bully the teachers. We are serious about protecting both our students and our teachers."
Additionally, Raymond said that "We love all of our students at Lakeside and strive to maintain a safe and effective learning environment."
According to the Lafayette Daily Adviser, Raymond was on the show "Survivor "in 2002, and is a member of the state's Republican Party.