A former ‘Survivor’ contestant disciplined a child while serving as a school headmaster, attributing the backlash to ‘cancel culture.’
A pastor from Louisiana, who also serves as the headmaster of a Christian school and was previously a contestant on Survivor, has been found guilty of cruelty to juveniles.
On Monday, Sept. 23, a jury in St. Tammany Parish convicted John Raymond, 62, of Lacombe, on three felony counts of cruelty to juveniles. He was found guilty for using tape to seal the mouths of three students who were talking excessively, as confirmed by a St. Tammany Parish Court clerk to PEOPLE.
Raymond, the headmaster of Lakeside Christian School in Slidell, was convicted of second-degree cruelty to juveniles for covering the mouth of a 4-year-old boy during a tantrum, which obstructed the boy’s breathing and caused him to go “limp,” according to a police statement.
“I’m not guilty,” Raymond stated following the verdict, according to NOLA.com. “I’ve never been cruel to a child, and I love children.”
Raymond, a contestant on Survivor: Thailand in 2002, stated that he experienced being a victim of “cancel culture,” according to NOLA.com.
On April 7, 2022, Raymond was arrested by the Slidell Police Department following a complaint from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) regarding possible child abuse at the school, according to a statement from the department.
The complaint indicated that Raymond used tape to shut the mouths of several students as a disciplinary measure.
The Slidell Police initiated an investigation revealing that multiple students, all aged 13, were taken out of a class because of excessive talking, according to the statement.
“John Raymond became angry and brought the students to his office,” it said. “At some point, Raymond took a roll of packing tape and taped the students’ mouths shut by wrapping the tape around their heads.”
The statement adds: “Raymond allegedly sent the students back to class for around 45 minutes before another school administrator felt uncomfortable with the situation and removed the tape from the students’ faces.”
On May 9, 2022, police arrested him once more and charged him with one count of cruelty to a juvenile after a 4-year-old, who reportedly had “occasional tantrums,” was found crying and screaming, according to a police statement.
“Raymond allegedly placed his hand over the boy’s nose and mouth (preventing him from breathing) to the point of him going “limp,” the statement said.
“A staff member told Raymond to stop, and then observed the boy ‘out of it and lethargic,’ ‘unable to stand,’ and saw ‘mucous’ come out of the boy’s nose, as he attempted to breathe,” the statement said.
In a separate incident, Raymond reportedly suspended the boy by his ankles and repeatedly struck him on the buttocks, according to the statement.
He was taken into custody at the St. Tammany Parish Jail and subsequently released on a $100,000 bond on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
The sentencing is set for October 23. He could be sentenced to as much as 40 years in prison.