A North Carolina mother is speaking out after her son sent her a photo from his classroom showing his mouth taped shut in a disciplinary measure taken by his teacher.
Catherine Webster told WRAL-TV that her 11-year-old son Brady had sent her a photo last month from his Smithfield Middle School sixth-grade classroom, showing his mouth covered with several strips of blue painter’s tape over his mouth after he allegedly had been too talkative in class.
“I don’t know what to do,” Brady’s text message to his mother said.
“He was humiliated,” Webster told the outlet.
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Brady Webster sent his mother a photo from his sixth grade classroom showing his mouth taped shut. (Catherine Webster)
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 once called me to discuss his behavior, so I wasn’t aware he was a problem for her.”
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Fox News Digital obtained the text message 11-year-old Brady Webster sent to his mother.
Catherine Webster immediately took the issue to the principal’s office, and an investigation was launched.
WRAL-TV reported that the teacher, who had just been hired in August 2022, had resigned on Feb. 17, just days after the photo was taken.
“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 system said in a statement to the outlet.
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Smithfield Middle School in Smithfield, North Carolina. (Google Earth )
An investigation by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office found that several other allegations against the teacher had been made, but determined after consulting with the district attorney that an assault charge was not warranted, according to WRAL-TV.
Webster told Fox News Digital that she is “satisfied” with the way the principal “acted immediately” to ensure that the teacher was not in class the next day but is speaking out now to call for “accountability” so that this situation can’t happen again in the future, and the teacher is not allowed to simply move to another jurisdiction.
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“Just because Brady didn’t get hurt, doesn’t make this any less serious,” Webster said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
