Teacher Suspended for Taping Student's Mouth Shut

A substitute teacher has been banned from Elizabeth public schools after being accused of taping the mouths of 5 third graders because they were "jabbering too much."

Winfield Scott Elementary School in Elizabeth (PIX 11)

One of the students, Angelique Correa Henderson, tells 7 ABC she felt "pressured and scared" when the unidentified teacher almost covered her nose with tape and threatened to "rip it off their mouths" if they kept talking during a "quiet game."

Henderson told PIX 11 the teacher used duct tape and "some kind of clear tape" that "hurt."

The teacher at the Winfield Scott Elementary School slowly removed the tape 15 minutes later as classmates laughed at the group Henderson told the station.

Her angry father, Mundford Henderson, told NBC 4 New York, "I don't understand what she was thinking We're talking about kids. You're sworn to protect and teach, not to hurt them and put them in fear."

Mundford Henderson has filed a report, separately from the school's, with Elizabeth Police. Police tell 7 ABC that they are involving Child Protective Services in their investigation. Mundford had only heard from Elizabeth Department of Education investigators on Friday morning.