Middle School Teacher Resigns After Taping Chatty 11-year-old Student’s Mouth Shut

Catherine Webster/Facebook

A mother in North Carolina is speaking out after her son sent 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 sent her a picture last month from his sixth-grade classroom at Smithfield Middle School, in which he was seen with his mouth covered with several strips of blue painter's tape after he was reportedly too talkative in class.

"I don’t know what to do," Brady’s text message to his mother said.

Catherine Webster

"He was humiliated," Webster told the outlet.

According to Webster, her son and two of his classmates were taped at the start of their class and were compelled to remain in that position throughout the entire period. This statement was made to Fox News Digital.

"It had been going on for a while before this day," Webster said of the alleged disciplinary measure.

Smithfield Middle School/Facebook

"His teacher never once called me to discuss his behavior, so I wasn’t aware he was a problem for her."

An inquiry was started as soon as Catherine Webster brought the matter to the principal's attention.

According to WRAL-TV, the teacher, who had only recently been hired in August 2022, quit on February 17, only a few days after the picture 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.

Several additional claims against the teacher came to light during an investigation by the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, but after speaking with the district attorney, it was decided that an assault charge was not necessary, according to WRAL-TV.

Webster told Fox News Digital that while she is "satisfied" with the principal's "immediate action" to ensure that the teacher was excused from class the following day, she is speaking out now to demand "accountability" so that it won't happen again in the future and the teacher is unable to simply transfer to another jurisdiction.

"Just because Brady didn’t get hurt, doesn’t make this any less serious," Webster said.

Webster has chosen to speak out only after the completion of both the school and criminal investigations. She expressed her anger towards the alleged punishment, stating that although her son may be talkative and enjoy being the class clown, the severity of the punishment was unacceptable.

“I want to know who is going to be held accountable, so this doesn’t happen again,” she said.