John Raymond, a 62-year-old member of the state's Republican Party's state central committee, was found guilty Monday on three felony counts of child cruelty. He's convicted of taping students' mouths shut during his time as headmaster at the Lakeside Christian School in the southeast town of Slidell in 2022.

On Monday, Sept. 23, a jury in St. Tammany Parish found John Raymond, 62, of Lacombe, guilty of three felony charges of cruelty to juveniles for putting tape on the heads of three students to keep their mouths closed because they were talking too much, a St. Tammany Parish Court clerk confirmed to PEOPLE.

A Louisiana pastor, who once competed on the reality TV series “Survivor”, has been convicted of child abuse after taping students’ mouths shut. John Raymond, 62, was charged with cruelty to juveniles stemming from his disciplinary actions at a Christian school he founded in Slidell.