A top official in the Louisiana Republican Party recently resigned from his influential position after a jury convicted him of disturbing criminal charges.

John Raymond, now a former member of the state GOP's governing board, was convicted last week on multiple charges of child cruelty, according to the Shreveport Times.

Those felony charges stemmed from unorthodox disciplinary measures he took against students at the Lakeside Christian Academy private school in Slidell he previously founded and served as the headmaster.

Resigned before he could be expelled

The Times reported that Louisiana GOP Chairman Derek Babcock revealed that he'd been pursuing efforts to expel Raymond from the party prior to his resignation following the criminal conviction.

Babcock said Raymond's position on the Republican State Central Committee "created a distraction we don't need, so for the sake of the party he made the decision to resign, which I appreciate and consider to be the right thing to do."

And, while he had accepted the resignation in his role as party chair, Babcock further stated that he intended to have the party's credential committee also accept the resignation to make it more formal.

Faces possibility of 70 years in prison

NOLA.com reported last week that a jury in St. Tammany Parish took about one hour to deliberate before finding Raymond guilty on all counts of child cruelty following a six-day trial, though the handcuffed defendant continued to insist "I'm not guilty" and "I’ve never been cruel to a child, and I love children," after the verdict was read aloud.

He had been charged with three felony counts of cruelty to juveniles for reportedly taping shut the mouths of students at his school, as well as a fourth charge of second-degree child cruelty for covering a disruptive 4-year-old student's mouth and nose with his hand until they passed out.

The judge set a sentencing bond of $100,000 after the verdict and a sentencing date of October 23, where the defendant faces up to 40 years in prison for the second-degree child cruelty charge and up to 10 years in prison for each of the cruelty to juveniles charges.

During the trial, Raymond's defense attorney tried to argue that his client was a victim of "cancel culture" by "woke" parents and prosecutors and that the discipline he'd meted out to students was aligned with the Bible and his Christian faith.

"In 18 years as a state and federal prosecutor, that’s the first time I’ve been accused of being 'woke,'" Republican District Attorney Collin Sims told the court. "It’s not wokeness. It’s 'Dude, that’s my kid. I didn’t tell you you could do that.'"

Unacceptable disciplinary measures result in investigation, charges, civil lawsuit

According to a press release from DA Sims, Raymond's troubles began in March 2022 when Slidell Police received and investigated reports that Raymond had taped closed the mouths of three students who'd been speaking out in class -- an action that sparked complaints from the school's principal, teachers, and parents.

The investigation and subsequent arrest led to the discovery of an incident that occurred in 2017 when Raymond had used his hand to essentially suffocate and put to sleep a 4-year-old pre-K student who'd been misbehaving in class and the principal's office.

NOLA.com noted that in addition to being found guilty of the criminal charges, Raymond, who is a local pastor and former contestant on the "Survivor" TV series, also faces a civil lawsuit brought by victims' families, who said of the verdict in a joint statement, "We will pray that John will benefit from this humbling experience and become the religious and community leader that he wishes to be."