HOMESTEAD, Fla. — A South Florida teacher is accused of taping the mouth of one of his students shut after a disagreement, authorities said.
According to Miami-Dade County online booking records, Michael Siegmund Alvarez, 34, was arrested on Monday. Alvarez, who was a middle school Bible teacher at First United Methodist Christian School in Homestead, was charged with simple battery, the Miami Herald reported.
Alvarez’s name is no longer listed in the staff directory on the school’s website.
Michael Alvarez, a teacher at First United Methodist Christian School, is facing simple battery charges after police say he allegedly taped a student's mouth shut. https://t.co/ryewXBu3OS
— CBS Miami (@CBSMiami) May 5, 2026
“Upon arrival, officers met with the parents of a student who stated that their child’s mouth had been taped shut following a disagreement with a teacher,” the Homestead Police Department said in a statement.
While police did not provide the age or gender of the student, WTVJ, citing an arrest report, said that the victim was a 13-year-old boy.
According to the television station, the boy told authorities that he was sitting in class when several students began laughing while another student was reading a Bible passage out loud.
The boy said his teacher, Alvarez, singled him out and scolded him for talking and laughing during the reading, the television station reported.
When another student began talking, Alvarez allegedly accused the victim of being disruptive and sent him into a hall outside of class, WTVJ reported. The affidavit stated that Alvarez came into the hallway moments later and allegedly taped the student’s mouth with green painter’s tape.
Alvarez was arrested at 7:39 p.m. ET on Monday and was taken to Miami-Dade Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, online records show. He is free on bond after posting $1,000.
An investigation is ongoing, WFOR reported.
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