A Louisiana school headmaster who was arrested last week for taping children’s mouths shut issued a lengthy statement Sunday defending his actions. Reverend John Raymond, who is also a local Republican politician and former Survivor contestant, claims he taped five disruptive seventh graders’ mouths after they left their teacher “distraught and in tears.” He implied he was protecting teachers from being bullied. He claimed he told the boys he loved them and gave them a choice, “[E]ither go downstairs and call your parents... or you can get tape on your mouth and learn how to be quiet during class.” He claims the boys opted for the latter so he “carefully” put tape on the mouths “making sure that it did not touch their nose or interfere with their breathing.” He claimed he “gently” peeled the tape off after 10 minutes when the principal at Lakeside Christian Academy expressed concern. Three of the boys’ parents are pressing charges but a defiant Raymond insisted that “building character in teenage boys can be difficult.”
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