Former ‘Survivor’ Contestant Convicted Of Horrific Child Abuse

A school headmaster who had once competed on Survivor has been convicted of cruelty to juveniles. Police statements claimed the former reality show contestant had taped the mouths of children. Despite the verdict, the contestant denies his guilt.

The Former Contestant Denied Any Guilt

John Raymond, who was a contestant on Survivor: Thailand in 2002, has served as Lake Christian School in Slidell as the school’s headmaster. On September 23, Raymond was found guilty of three felony charges by a jury in St. Tammany Parish.

Raymond, who is from Slidell, Louisiana, was the first voted out on Day 3 of the show. By the end of the competition, the sole survivor was Brian Heidik, of Quartz Hill, California.

Reportedly, Raymond has placed tape on the mouths of three students, allegedly as punishment for talking too much. In addition, he was convicted of a second-degree cruelty to juveniles due to an incident in which he place a hand on the mouth of a young boy. This caused problems for the boy’s breathing, making him go “limp,” as alleged by a witness at the trial.

According to NOLA.com, Raymond maintained that, “I’m not guilty,” after the verdict was delivered. As he continued, “I’ve never been cruel to a child, and I love children.”

Raymond’s legal issues started in April of 2022 when the Slidell Police Department arrested him. This was in response to a complaint from the Department of Children and Family Services. The complaint had alleged that Raymond had taped multiple students’ mouths shut. During a police investigation, it was found that several 13 year-old students had been removed from a class over excess talking.

Raymond Faces Up To Forty Years In Prison

The police department released a statement on Facebook. As it claimed, “The investigation concluded that on March 18th, several students were removed from a class due to excessive talking. John Raymond became angry and brought the students to his office.”

“At some point, Raymond took a roll of packing tape and taped the students’ mouths shut by wrapping the tape around their heads. 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’ face.”

The statement continued, “Due to the fact the tape was wrapped around the students’ head, it had to be removed with a pair of scissors.” Police arrested Raymond in May of 2022 after placing a hand on a 4 year-old boy’s mouth. In a statement shared by People, “Raymond allegedly placed his hand over the boy’s nose and mouth.”

“A staff member told Raymond to stop, and then observed the boy ‘out of it and lethargic’.” The statement also alleged Raymond grabbed the boy by the ankles and “whipped him on the buttocks.”

Raymond was remanded to the St. Tammany Parish Jail, being released on $100,000 bond in late September. He is scheduled for sentencing on October 23 and faces up to 40 years in prison.

Have you been following this story? Let us know your thoughts and come back to TV Shows Ace for all the latest reality TV and celebrity news.