need to know
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Las Vegas fifth-grade teacher arrested on child abuse, contact with minors charges
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Students accused Kha Nam Nguyen of playing disturbing games such as “Knife” and making inappropriate comments that made them feel uncomfortable
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Nguyen reportedly admitted to actions he claimed were done to build rapport
A fifth-grade teacher in Las Vegas has been arrested after multiple students accused him of inappropriate behavior.
The Clark County School District Police Department announced the arrest of 51-year-old Wing and Lilly Fong Elementary School teacher Kha Nam Nguyen on Friday, March 13, local media outlets KTNV, Fox5, KLAS and KSNV reported. He was charged with one count of child abuse or neglect and five counts of contact with a minor or mentally ill person.
Nguyen has been employed by the school district since 2007, according to KLAS.
An arrest report obtained by the outlet details a number of complaints against Nguyen, including shocking “games” he allegedly played with children.
One of them is called “Knife Card”. During the game, the educator allegedly turned off the lights in the classroom and walked around with a “cake knife.” KTNV noted that a “large serrated bread knife” was found in a cabinet in his classroom, according to an arrest report obtained by the outlet.
The outlet reported that the “knife card” was the reason Nguyen faced charges of child abuse or neglect.
Nguyen also reportedly played a “teddy bear game,” in which he would hug a “primarily female” student who acted as a “teddy bear” while he would “pretend to be upset or cry,” according to the arrest report. Students are expected to provide some form of comfort.
Multiple students expressed similar complaints about the teacher, saying he made them feel “uncomfortable and intimidated,” the outlet reported. One student told police the “teddy bear game” made them feel “weird”.
Students also accused teachers of inappropriate touching and making disturbing comments, including “shipping” students as lovers and calling girls “money diggers” and calling students “special ed” when they answered questions incorrectly, according to arrest reports.
Fox5 noted that students also claimed Nguyen displayed “violent tendencies, including vulgar language and flipping tables,” according to the arrest report.
Nguyen spoke with police and reportedly admitted to “engaging in some of these behaviors over the years.” He said it was a form of “rapport building” and meant to “entertain students,” KTNV reported. However, he specifically denied accusations that he referred to students as “special education.”
“Throughout the interview, Nguyen justified his actions as a way to entertain the children and that he was simply trying to get the attention of the class and build rapport,” investigators wrote in the arrest report, KNTV reported. “At one point during the interview, Nguyen mentioned that now that he was talking about the incident, he understood why some of his behavior was strange.”
Nguyen was released on $15,000 bail but was unable to return to school, Fox5 and KLAS reported. The latter reported that he was “under intermediate electronic monitoring.”
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KTNV reported that there had been previous complaints against Nguyen.
The school’s principal told police that administrators had previously responded to complaints about Nguyen, including anonymous complaints about “unprofessional remarks” by students and separate complaints from faculty and staff about “unwelcome advances” and “unwanted gifts.”
PEOPLE reached out to the Clark County School District and Wing and Lilly Fong elementary schools for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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