Warrant issued for substitute teacher

LAFAYETTE — The Lafayette Police Department has issued a misdemeanor warrant for simple battery against a substitute teacher accused of placing tape over a 9-year-old student’s mouth last month, a police spokesman said Monday.

Cpl. Paul Mouton said the warrant was issued Monday for Curley B. Henry, 52, of Lafayette, stemming from an incident that occurred Sept. 12.

Mouton said Henry is accused of putting painter’s tape over a child’s mouth while in school.

Lafayette Parish School Superintendent Pat Cooper said the incident occurred at J.W. James Elementary.

Henry was terminated immediately after the school system got the findings of an internal investigation into the incident, Cooper said.

The school system was alerted to the allegations a day after the incident, when Henry allegedly put tape over the boy’s mouth after he refused to be quiet in class, Cooper said.

“That’s totally outside our discipline policies and discipline matrix,” Cooper said.

The school system also alerted authorities about the incident, Cooper said.

Mouton said the warrant was issued after Henry failed to come in and cooperate with investigators.

Comments

1) Comment by Thurston_Howell_III - 05/05/2013

Boil this substitute teacher in oil.

2) Comment by eavesmac - 25/12/2012

A warrant for taping a child's mouth? What a communist society we've become. There was a time when a wooden paddle would have been applied to the rear end of the student. Blue painters tape is known not to stick. The child would not be quiet. Geez.

3) Comment by Iamhopeful2 - 23/12/2012

My guess is that this substitute was NOT a certified teacher and therefore not fully aware of the litany of rules and regulations required of highly qualified teachers. Not to mention the microscope that teachers are under with parent accountability. Another proof that teachers don't need bogus value added test scores to provide some phoney sense of accountability. Part of the blame for the lack of qualified substitutes goes to the legislature who passed a law two years ago that virtually eliminates the hiring of retired certified teachers as substitutes. Add to that the new legislation that allows charters to hire non-certified instructors (100% now) and you have a growing opportunity for all kinds of problems that parents may not be able to avert. When will the public get the picture that privatizing our public school system will remove most of the safeguards developed over years and is removing their control thru the removal of elected school boards answerable to the community and parents. Autonomy for charters is not all it is cracked up to be.

4) Comment by simbatigercat - 29/11/2012

Schools have to be careful of child abuse nowadays because parents will file charges. However, it still goes on, both verbal and physical abuse. You pretty much can tell which teachers need to be watched. They are connected, social, and don't show respect for their students. They also care more about discipline than achievement. Boiled crabs, it is not a matter of whether the child could have been hurt or not. The problem is that tape is not part of the disciplinary protocol. The teacher used very poor judgement. Substitutes have to have thick skin.

5) Comment by BoiledCrabs - 21/11/2012

You have got to be kidding. Here are parents, or moe like ONE parent and no father sueing to get something for nothing. This is why the kid misbehaves. It's monkey see monkey do. And painter's tape, not even good strong sticky duct tape for goodness sake. I could understand if the teacher had used super glue. But painter's tape barely sticks to anything anyway, much less human skin. This is a waste of taxpayer money.

6) Comment by Get Real - 02/10/2012

Well he should have shut his mouth. Teachers have this pressure to raise scores and to do this and do that but some student who has not been properly reared just comes and will not let learning happen for the other students in the class. I applaud him taping his mouth so others can learn.