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Ohio teacher burns cross on child's arm


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A public school teacher preached his Christian beliefs despite complaints by other teachers and administrators and used a device to burn the image of a cross on students' arms, according to a report by independent investigators.

Mount Vernon Middle School teacher John Freshwater also taught creationism in his science class and was insubordinate in failing to remove a Bible and other religious materials from his classroom, the report said.

School board members were scheduled to meet Friday afternoon to discuss the findings by consulting firm H.R. On Call Inc., hired by the district to investigate. The report was released Thursday.

School Superintendent Stephen Short wouldn't comment on the report before Friday's meeting, his office said. A message seeking comment was left for Freshwater's attorney, Roger Weaver.

The report comes one week after a family filed a federal lawsuit in Columbus against Freshwater and the school district, saying Freshwater burned a cross on their child's arm that remained for three or four weeks.

Freshwater's friend Dave Daubenmire defended him.

"With the exception of the cross-burning episode ... I believe John Freshwater is teaching the values of the parents in the Mount Vernon school district," he told The Columbus Dispatch in a story published Friday.

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So family values equates to more torture in the name of Jesus?
jubal

168 responses // Ohio teacher burns cross on child's arm

  • What in the world was this person thinking? I posted this story this morning off of yahoo news. My headline was UN FUN DUH MENTAL ist. This is physical assault. The guy needs to do time. Good catch ,Jubal.
    bluestranger
    1 response to this
  • people are fucking nuts
    clayjj05
    1 response to this
  • how in the hell could a teacher burn a cross in to one of her students arm. i cant even imagine that, i know that when i was a kid the teachers would try saying god created earth, and that really upset me, because i dont belive in god, but i was never punished by my teachers, i guess i was lucky.
    i hope the people in jail burn him as well
    meganash
    1 response to this
  • i woulda burned the symbol of the aint-christ into his arm (dont take that seriously or all sensitive n shit)..he really got into the wrong profession
    street_smart
  • This is a sign that more people are turning to religion in these hard economic times.
    arturogarza
    1 response to this
  • Ohio does it again!
    jennyschu
  • What would Jesus do?!!
    merasyad
    1 response to this
  • Just once I'd like God to show up and say, "What the FUCK are you doing? Do you seriously think this bullshit impresses me? Buring kids with a cross? Seriously!?! I am soooo over this. I'm done!"

    POOF!

    God gives up on humanity, blocks us from his Facebook page and writes some pretty hurtful blog entries about us.
    recommended by  jubal
    crob80227
    4 responses to this
  • Disgusting meatheads.
    Dmitri_Molotov
  • This is child abuse and this guy should face criminal assault charges. And it goes without saying that he should be fired.
    seeker561
    1 response to this
  • wtf? why is he not tried as a terrorist?
    recommended by  jubal
    amilli23
    5 responses to this
  • They should have fired this guy the second he was teaching creationism. Their lack of enforcement has led to the scaring of a childs life.
    current89
    1 response to this
  • Silly Christians. What slaves you are!

    And if you're one of those hip, young Christians - you're not redefining Christianity and reinterpreting/adapting it "for a new generation" - you are complicit in and need to be held accountable for this atrocity as well as all the others committed for "the love of Christ."

    Disgusting.
    recommended by  jubal
    olenholm
    7 responses to this
  • You'd THINK torturing a student wouldn't exactly be the best way to convince someone of your beliefs... or earn any respect for the religion... I agree, HOW can you burn a student in the classroom? I had teachers in high school of the same religious mindset, but the worst they ever did was say nasty perverted things to female students (scars of another kind!).
    ForsakenPhantasm
  • wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow!
    ssppeencceerr
  • Hey, he knows that the Bush administration is showing equal contempt for the law and committing even worse torture, and that seems perfectly acceptable to the courts, the congress, the MSM, and the public. If it's OK to destroy the Constitution in the name of Christ, then surely it's OK just to ignore silly laws about science teaching and about physical abuse of children.

    I wish I believed in Hell. It would be gratifying to imagine all these jerks being roasted.
    Scarabus
  • Where in the bible does it says that it is ok to burn a cross on a child's arm?
    shroomfairy
  • this is insane....
    KGagliano
  • This makes me quite angry!
    tanyetta
  • Another great example of what organized religion does for society. Of course someone will say "he's just one nut" but honestly he's just ANOTHER nut in the long line of nuts doing the lords work and doing something insane. How many nuts does it take to see a distinct pattern?
    eldamon
    3 responses to this
  • in many 'christian's' eyes this criminal did nothing wrong. 'you shall not abuse a child' is not one of the ten commandments, on that token, rape is cool with god too.

    things like this remind me why i'm an atheist.
    Betico
    2 responses to this
  • This teacher is not a Christian by any definition of the word... nor is he a teacher by any definition of the word.
    AeronPrometheus
    2 responses to this
  • Why must physical abuse trigger the possible termination of this man's teaching career at his job? When he refused several times about removing religious items, the school should have taken action. What a psycho!
    Bood
    1 response to this
  • I thought verbal harassment by "christians" was bad enough, but this definitely takes the cake. such a shame!
    Danna
  • The school should have seen this coming.... well I don't know about "This" being burning a cross into a kids arm but they should have seen something bad coming. It is there responsibility to keep religion out of public schools and to keep there students safe. I hope the admin of the school go down aswell.
    gylu
  • http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080620/ap_on_re_us/teacher...
    Ohio board votes to ax teacher accused of branding

    School board members voted 5-0 to fire Mount Vernon Middle School science teacher John Freshwater.

    But Lynda Weston, the district's director of teaching and learning, told investigators that she has dealt with complaints about Freshwater for much of her 11-year term at the district, the report said.

    A former superintendent, Jeff Maley, said he tried to find another position for Freshwater but couldn't because he was certified only in science, the report said.

    Freshwater used a science tool known as a high-frequency generator to burn images of a cross on students' arms in December, the report said. Freshwater told investigators he simply was trying to demonstrate the device on several students and described the images as an "X," not a cross. But pictures show a cross, the report said.
    Argon18
    2 responses to this
  • he's lucky the kids didn't attack him, I would have gone berserk. bastard. you don't injure children, for any purpose. period.
    pirho338
  • Umm... ONLY fired? Oh, please! That's religious sadism! Sorry if some people like to believe that we're not made out of clay, or that the Earth was created in 7 days.... Maybe some of us just like believing we were monkeys.. or even amphibians... You don't have to burn a cross on my arm and try and change my mind...

    Good riddance, Mr. Psycho Teacher!
    sonoway
    1 response to this
  • haha i concurr!!!! and since i lived in cincinnati for 7 years... yeah... screw ohio!
    sonoway
  • ohio??

    ...sounds more like something you'd hear about florida
    jh64487
    1 response to this
  • haha Nope... That's ohio all right.......... Just the way i left it 4 years ago, ignorant and intolerant! LOL
    sonoway
  • thats messed up. if someone doesn't believe the way you do, don't burn a friggin cross in their arm!!
    haleyann
  • It's not the exorcist .The teacher is wrong for doing this and he should not be able to teach at that school again.Leave christianity out of madness and insanity.
    powerup
  • they say he was fired from the county... but idk if he can get another job if that's permanently on his resume... unless he gets hired at a school where burning crosses on student's bodies is part of the curriculum...
    sonoway
  • Pathetic, rediculis, discusting
    biscuit009
  • Everybody is all up in arms about the particular symbol in question. Can we take the Christian element away for a moment and focus on the fact that students were burned? How serious were the burns? I read that they were inflicted using a high-frequency generator. Would that be painful or permanent?
    stinGrayz
  • way to screw up a kid.

    welcome to the 21st century. it's like the 17th century, but 400 years later.
    stephenthomson
  • Just dreadful.
    ocanada