A mother in North Carolina is speaking out after her son texted her a picture of him in class with his mouth taped shut as a form of punishment from his teacher.
According to Catherine Webster, who spoke to WRAL-TV, her 11-year-old son Brady texted her a picture last month from his sixth-grade classroom at Smithfield Middle School, in which he was seen with his lips wrapped with several strands of blue painter’s tape after he was supposedly too noisy in class.
Brady texted his mother, “I don’t know what to do,” in response.
“He was humiliated,” Webster said to the site.
Webster told Fox News Digital that her son had been taped at the beginning of class and “forced to sit through the entire period like that” and that two of his classmates also had been taped that same day.
“It had been going on for a while before this day,” Webster said of the alleged disciplinary measure. “His teacher never called me to discuss his behavior, so I wasn’t aware he was a problem for her.”
As soon as Catherine Webster brought the matter up, the principal’s office opened an investigation.
The instructor, who had only recently been hired in August 2022, reportedly quit on February 17, just days after the photo was shot, according to WRAL-TV.
“We can confirm that whenever such allegations arise, our administration responds swiftly by investigating the allegations and, sometimes, by removing staff from classrooms pending completion of a thorough review,” the school district stated in a statement to the outlet.
Several further claims against the instructor were discovered during an investigation by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. Still, after speaking with the district attorney, it was decided that an assault charge was unnecessary, according to WRAL-TV.
Webster told Fox News Digital that while she is “satisfied” with the way the principal “acted immediately” to make sure the teacher was not in class the following day, she is speaking out now to demand “accountability” to ensure that this circumstance won’t occur again in the future. The teacher is unable to move to another jurisdiction.
According to Webster, Brady wasn’t wounded, but it doesn’t make the situation any less serious.
Fox News Digital contacted the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office for comment, but no response was received immediately.