Teacher Tapes Child’s Mouth Shut

Tina Kogel wasn’t worried last week when her 8-year-old son, Justin, complained that his mouth was sore, even when she noticed the small red spots on his cheeks.

“I have six children, and I figured they were rough-housing,” she said.

Then Kogel learned that Justin’s teacher had covered his mouth with silver duct tape, ear to ear, and allegedly left it on during class for nearly three hours that day because he was talking too much. And that another staff member allegedly walked in, did nothing and mockingly called her child “Mr. Duct Tape Mouth.”

“You can’t do that to a kid; it was child abuse,” said Kogel, who plans to file a notice of claim today that she will sue the Longwood School District and Charles Walters Elementary School teacher Annie Collins for at least $250,000.

Collins, a 16-year teacher in Long Island’s Longwood district, was suspended with pay Friday after she acknowledged the incident and apologized to Justin and his mother, Superintendent Candee Swenson said.

Kogel’s lawyer, Marvin Wolf, said the incident began when Justin, without raising his hand, asked Collins on what English textbook page the class was reading. “The teacher responded that if he didn’t keep quiet, she was going to tape his mouth shut. He asked the same question, and she taped his mouth shut,” Wolf said.

One parent interviewed outside the school expressed sympathy for Collins. “I think teachers have a lot to deal with today,” said the mother. “When I was young, I had tape on my mouth all the time in school.”