A Louisiana pastor and Christian school headmaster who was once a contestant on Survivor has been convicted of cruelty to juveniles.
On Monday, Sept. 23, a jury in St. Tammany Parish found John Raymond, 62, of Lacombe, guilty of three felony charges of cruelty to juveniles for putting tape on the heads of three students to keep their mouths closed because they were talking too much, a St. Tammany Parish Court clerk confirmed to PEOPLE.
Raymond, who has served as headmaster of Lakeside Christian School in Slidell, was also convicted of second-degree cruelty to juveniles for putting his hand over the mouth of a 4-year-old boy who was having a tantrum, which prevented the boy from breathing and made him go “limp,” police said in a statement.
“I’m not guilty,” Raymond said after the verdict, NOLA.com reports. “I’ve never been cruel to a child, and I love children.”
Raymond, who was a contestant on Survivor: Thailand in 2002, said he was a victim of “cancel culture,” NOLA.com reports.
His legal troubles began on April 7, 2022, when the Slidell Police Department arrested Raymond after receiving a complaint from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) about potential child abuse at the school, the department said in a statement.
The complaint stated that Raymond taped multiple students’ mouths shut as a form of discipline.
Slidell Police launched an investigation that found that several students, all 13 years old, had been removed from a class due to excessive talking, the statement said.
“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 again and charged him with one count of cruelty to a juvenile when a 4-year-old who would have “occasional tantrums” was crying and screaming, police said in a 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 another incident, Raymond allegedly held the boy upside down by his ankles and repeatedly “whipped him on the buttocks,” the statement said.
He was remanded to the St. Tammany Parish Jail and was released on $100,000 bond on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 23. He faces up to 40 years in prison.
