Florida teacher accused of duct taping kindergartners' eyes as punishment

A Florida teacher has been suspended without pay after being accused of duct taping the eyes of a kindergartner.

Lindsay Blanc, a music teacher at Potter Elementary in Tampa Bay, is accused of putting duct tape over a little boy's eyes as punishment for turning around to keep watching a movie with his classmates, even though he had been placed at a time-out table, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Blanc has been suspended without pay, and the Hillsborough County School District tried to terminate her by simply not renewing her contract. But the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association pushed for her to get due process, according to the Times.

She has not been charged with a crime, but police reports indicate that authorities interviewed 19 children and some reported they had been duct taped, while others said they had witnessed her taping other children's eyes or threatening to do so.

She also warned children that if they misbehaved she'd have them taken away in a white van, the Times reports.

Under a rating system instituted in 2013, Potter is currently rated "F," indicating a low performance, according to the Miami Herald.

Monica Vann, the mother of a 5-year-old boy allegedly duct taped by Blanc, said her child suffered minor skin irritation, but since the incident he has suffered nightmares and worsening behavior, she told the paper.

"I was outraged," Vann told the Times. "I asked, 'did it hurt?' He told me, 'I thought my eyeballs were going to come out when they pulled out the tape.'"

Since then, Vann said, "he's been having nightmares. I feel like he was traumatized."