Former “Survivor” contestant John Raymond faces up to 40 years in prison after being convicted of cruelty to juveniles.
Raymond — who served as headmaster of Lakeside Christian School in Slidell, La. — has been found guilty on three felony charges of cruelty to juveniles for taping talkative teenaged students’ mouths shut. He also received a second-degree charge of cruelty to juveniles for holding his hand over an even younger child’s mouth during a temper tantrum. Police statements say he did this until the 4-year-old went “limp.”
“I’m not guilty,” Raymond said following the verdict, according to NOLA.com. “I’ve never been cruel to a child, and I love children.”
The Slidell Police Department first received complaints about Raymond back on April 7, 2022, leading to his arrest after a tip from the Department of Children and Family Services regarding possible abuse happening at the Louisiana school. An investigation found that he had taped numerous 13-year-olds’ mouths shut as discipline for talking in class.
“John Raymond became angry and brought the students to his office,” the Slidell Police said in a statement at the time. “At some point, Raymond took a roll of packing tape and taped the students’ mouths shut by wrapping the tape around their heads.”
Raymond — who appeared briefly on “Survivor: Thailand” back in 2002 as Season 5’s first boot — was arrested again on May 9, 2022, for covering the mouth of a 4-year-old who was having a tantrum.
“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,” a statement at the time noted.
“I’m glad that the victims obtained justice,” prosecutor and Northshore District Attorney Collin Sims said after the verdict. “The law is the law and, at the end of the day, you can’t put your hands on kids that aren’t yours without a parent’s permission.”
“It was a pastor’s duty to counsel, not suffocate, the child,” Assistant District Attorney Christina Fisher added.
Raymond was released from St. Tammany Parish Jail Tuesday on $100,000 bond. His sentencing is set for Oct. 23.
