A Louisiana pastor convicted of child molestation for taping children’s mouths was a victim of the woke case and cancel culture, his lawyers argued.
Pastor John Raymond, 62, a former contestant on the reality show Survivor, was the lead pastor of New Horizon Church in Slidell and the founder and director of Lakeside Christian Academy.
He was found guilty of juvenile abuse on Monday for, among other things, duct-taping the mouths of three 13-year-old students to punish them at the academy.
But in closing, his attorney Joseph Long said Raymond was simply a victim of cancel culture.
In response, Northshore District Attorney Collin Sims said it was the first time the office had been accused of a wake-up call in court.
‘It’s not wokeness. It’s a guy, that’s my kid and I didn’t tell you you could do that,” Sims told the jury: NOLA.com reported.
Former Survivor contestant Pastor John Raymond, 62, who was convicted of juvenile abuse for duct-binding children’s mouths at a Christian school he founded in Slidell, Louisiana, said his actions were consistent with the Bible and that he was a victim of cancel culture
Raymond was a contestant on the fifth season of Survivor, set in Thailand in 2002
Raymond has stated that his actions were justified by the teachings of the Bible.
He originally turned himself in in April 2022 after police received numerous complaints about abuse at the academy.
“On March 18, several students were removed from a classroom due to excessive talking,” the police statement said.
“John Raymond got angry and brought the students into his office. At one point, Raymond took a roll of packing tape and taped the students’ mouths shut by wrapping the tape around their heads.’
After taping their mouths, Raymond had the students sit in the back of the classroom for about 45 minutes until another teacher became uncomfortable and took off the tape.
John Raymond and his wife Elizabeth pose in front of the seal of Louisiana
During his appearance on Survivor, Raymond was the first contestant to be voted off the island
The victims described difficulty breathing and the painful process of removing the tape.
In a separate incident, Raymond covered the mouth and nose of a four-year-old toddler during a tantrum, preventing him from breathing.
Officials said he choked the boy until he went “limp” and only stopped when a staff member intervened.
The employee reportedly told detectives that mucus was coming out of his nose, that he could not stand up and appeared “out of breath and lethargic.”
He will be sentenced on October 23 and his bail is set at $100,000
The disgraced pastor is an elected member of the Parish Republican Executive Committee and currently serves on the State Republican Central Committee. There is a good chance he will be removed from office
Another cruelty occurred when Raymond slapped a four-year-old on the bottom after dragging him across the floor ‘by his ankles’.
The disgraced pastor is an elected member of the Parish Republican Executive Committee and currently serves on the State Republican Central Committee, according to NOLA.com.
There is a good chance he will be removed from office.
Raymond was a contestant on the fifth season of Survivor, set in Thailand in 2002. He was the first contestant to be voted off the island.
He will be sentenced on October 23 and his bail is set at $100,000.