A female teacher at a school in Gothenburg has been acquitted of allegations of assault and harassment against several students after taping their mouths shut. This was decided by the Gothenburg District Court. However, the court was divided, with two judges wanting to convict her.

The incidents for which the 53-year-old teacher was prosecuted took place at Emmaskolan in Hammarkullen at the end of the autumn term 2024 and the start of the spring term 2025.

Several students with foreign backgrounds were making noise, running around the classroom, hitting their classmates, and disrupting lessons.

Taping Up the Mouths

Eventually, the teacher had enough. She wanted order and discipline in her classroom.

– Then I told them that if you don’t keep quiet, we’ll tape your mouths so we can continue with what we’re supposed to do during the day. So that was it. And the purpose wasn’t to hurt them, but to create a good learning environment. To have peace and quiet in the class, she explained her actions to the police.

– It’s my job as a teacher to make sure everything is in order. By order, I mean that they are able to study in peace.

The teacher also reportedly threatened to use super glue if the tape didn’t work. She shared that she had tried to quiet the troublemakers in other ways and had even spoken to the principal in vain about the problems.

– I don’t feel that I received any help, she said.

It Worked

The strategy of taping or threatening to tape students’ mouths shut, if they didn’t behave, worked surprisingly well. So well, in fact, that the teacher’s mere presence created order in the school, even in her colleagues’ classrooms.

– If I was in the classroom and it was chaotic and they heard that [the teacher’s name] was coming down the corridor, or noticed she was coming from the room next door, they would run to their seats and say, [the teacher’s name] is coming. And then they’d go completely silent, a female colleague recounted.

It was this colleague who heard about the teacher’s taping methods from a student and then alerted the school administration. The administration, in turn, informed the students’ parents about what had happened.

Three of these parents chose to file a police report, in which the teacher was accused of minor assault and harassment towards the students.

Unruliness at the Police Station

But attempting to interview the affected students turned out to be a challenge. They might have respect for their teacher, but not for the police.

One of the boys being questioned was extremely restless, bouncing around the interview room. Eventually, the police interviewer, who specializes in child interviews, had to firmly intervene.

– You know what, I’m actually having a really hard time hearing what you’re saying when you’re running around, she said.

This wild boy was one of those whose mouth had been taped by the teacher in question.

Acquitted by the Court

The 53-year-old teacher was charged with eight counts of minor assault, as some students said it hurt to remove the tape, and with two counts of harassment. But now, she has been acquitted by the Gothenburg District Court.

In its verdict, the court stated that she did not intend to cause pain to the students and that she even tested the tape on herself first.

Moreover, the judges concluded that “within the scope of her supervisory duties as a teacher, she had the right to carry out the taping, as it was not a punishment but a measure to restore order in the classroom.”

However, the court was divided. The presiding judge and one of the lay judges believed that although the teacher should be acquitted of the minor assault charges, she should be convicted of seven counts of harassment.