Former “Survivor” contestant faces felony charges for allegedly taping students’ mouths shut at Christian school he founded

John Raymond is accused by prosecutors of taping children's mouths shut at Lakeside Christian Academy, a school he founded in Louisiana.

Former Survivor contestant John Raymond is on trial in Louisiana this week facing charges of child cruelty at the Christian school he founded. The local district attorney's office alleges that Raymond taped multiple children's mouths shut at Lakeside Christian Academy, and physically held his hand over another child's mouth until that child "went limp," according to local reporting. Raymond and his legal defense argue that “what he did, as a disciplinarian, was reasonably discipline the children. They were not hurt.”

"I've never treated a child cruel [sic] in my life. I'm innocent of the charges against me," Raymond told a reporter for local NBC TV affiliate WDSU 6. "I love all of our students. We believe that the law will prevail, and we'll be completely exonerated."

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Assistant District Attorney Christina Fisher disagrees, arguing that Raymond's actions against the students in his care speak for themselves.

“His actions weren’t justifiable. They were criminal,” Fisher said in her opening remarks, according to The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. “He put tape over their mouths and sent them back to class … where they sat, humiliated. The principal didn’t approve. Neither did the parents.”

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Survivor viewers may remember Raymond as a contestant on Survivor: Thailand, the show's fifth season that aired in 2002, in which he was the first person voted off the island. Writing about the show for EW at the time, Jessica Shaw described Raymond as "the most irritating guy on the planet."

Related: Survivor: A tribute to all the first people voted out

Raymond founded Lakeside Christian Academy in 2016, and was headmaster there until these felony charges were brought against him in 2022. He is also the pastor at New Horizon Church, which is located in the same building as the school.

"People in the community know that he has spent his whole life trying to make this a better place," Raymond's attorney, Joseph Long, told WDSU. "He didn't wake up one day and decide to abuse children."

Long's office did not immediately reply to Entertainment Weekly's request for further comment on the case.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.