Religious school headmaster took a roll of packing tape and taped three young students’ mouths shut because they talked too much and he wanted to teach them a lesson; charged

The 60-year-old pastor and religious school headmaster reportedly put tape over his young students’ mouths for talking too much. Officials said the pastor reportedly taped three 13-year-old students’ mouths to teach them a lesson. “Several students were removed from a class due to excessive talking. The headmaster became angry and brought the students to his office. At some point, he took a roll of packing tape and taped the students’ mouths shut by wrapping the tape around their heads. During the encounter, the students claim they had trouble breathing and that the removal process was painful.” officials said.

The 60-year-old pastor from Louisiana, John Raymond, turned himself on Thursday. Per reports, the local police department received a complaint from the state’s department of family services of potential abusive behavior at Lakeside Christian School.

The local police department released the following statement: 

“On March 18, several students were removed from a class due to excessive talking. John Raymond became angry and brought the students to his office. At some point, Raymond took a roll of packing tape and taped the students’ mouths shut by wrapping the tape around their heads. During the encounter, the students claim they had trouble breathing and that the removal process was painful.”

Per reports, the 60-year-old headmaster made the students sit in the back of the class for about 45 minutes, when another school official became uneasy and took the tape off. 

The school officials have not released a statement yet.

According to NOLA, Lakeside Christian Academy is a non-denominational Christian school offering kindergarten through 12th grade, according to its website. 

The 60-year-old pastor is now charged with three counts of cruelty to juveniles. He has bonded out of jail and has not yet entered a plea. This incident remains under investigation. This is a developing story and it will be updated as new information become available.