Louisiana GOP official arrested again after witnesses say he held 4-year-old upside down and whipped him
According to a report from NOLA.com, a Louisiana Republican official who also serves as a pastor has stepped down from his position as a headmaster at a Christian school after being arrested for a second time for physically abusing a 4-year-old child.
Just one month ago, Pastor John Raymond was arrested for allegedly taping kids' mouths shut at the Christian school he runs in Slidell, a city in the St. Tammany Parish. At the time he defended his actions, telling reporters he gave the five children a choice of having their mouths closed with packing tape or face school suspensions because they were bullying a teacher.
According to USA Today, he claimed that "all five volunteered to have their mouths taped shut" and "said the tape didn't impede their breathing and wasn't wrapped all the way around their heads."
Now Raymond has been accused of cruelty to another juvenile at the Lakeside Christian Academy he founded.
READ MORE: Gen. Mark Milley 'this close' to quitting over Trump demand for troops to shoot protesters: book
The new report states, "several witnesses, including former teachers, faculty and parents, came forward to report additional incidents, some going back as far as 2017," with NOLA.com's Sara Pagones reporting that "in another incident, Raymond allegedly held the boy upside down by his ankles and repeatedly 'whipped him on the buttocks.'"
The report states that Raymond, who serves on St. Tammany's Republican Parish Executive Committee, previously appeared on the " Survivor" reality TV series and ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Louisiana House of Representatives.
According to the new report, after previously being charged with three counts of cruelty to juveniles, Raymond was taken into custody with the school notifying parents he is taking a leave of absence "as these matters are being resolved."
NOW WATCH: Trump demanded court-martial of retired Navy SEAL who led bin Laden raid
Leave a Comment
Related Post