CRUEL AND UNUSUAL

Christian School Headmaster Charged for Allegedly Taping Kids’ Mouths Shut for Nearly an Hour

Rev. John Raymond, a member of the Louisiana Republican Party’s board, apparently thought the students were talking too much.

A member of Louisiana’s state GOP governing board—who’s also the headmaster of a Christian school—was arrested Thursday on child cruelty charges after he allegedly taped his students’ mouths shut for talking too much. Rev. John Raymond was taken to jail Thursday after he allegedly kept the tape around the students’ heads and mouths for 45 minutes, which they said made it hard to breathe. The tape was only removed after another administrator became uncomfortable about the punishment and cut the tape off the students, which they said hurt. The state Republican Party said it did not know enough about the situation to comment, according to the Louisiana Daily Advertiser. Raymond—whose school promises a “dedicated” and “nurturing” environment as students “are encouraged to walk daily with Christ”—previously served as a Survivor contestant in 2002.