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An elementary school teacher is facing serious allegations after reportedly engaging in inappropriate and unsettling conduct with young students, according to court documents. The teacher allegedly manipulated preteen girls into sitting on his lap, dismissively labeling them as “gold diggers,” and is accused of brandishing a knife in the classroom while making threats.
Kha Nam Nguyen, a 51-year-old fifth-grade teacher at Wing and Lilly Fong Elementary School in Las Vegas, has been charged with multiple counts of abuse following complaints from several students about his disturbing behavior. Nguyen, who has also taught third-grade students, claimed his actions were merely attempts at humor, as per documents obtained by 8NewsNow.
According to student reports, Nguyen showed a clear preference for female students, making inappropriate comments regarding their physical appearances. He allegedly devised a “teddy bear” game in which he feigned tears to entice students to hug him, compelling them to sit on his lap and grabbing them by the waist to prevent them from leaving, the court filings reveal.
Additionally, Nguyen is accused of orchestrating a menacing game he called “knife-tag.” During this game, he allegedly wielded a large knife, turned off the classroom lights, and pursued students while warning them to run, according to the allegations.
The teacher also played a sinister game called “knife-tag,” where he pulled out a large knife, turned off the lights — then chased them while allegedly warning, “you guys better start running.”
He “pretends to stab us,” students told investigators — alleging that the teacher even made terrifying stabbing motions toward them.
On one occasion, the teacher reportedly flipped over a student’s desk and threw a book at him.
A girl in his class said she was “often scared of [his] temper as the screaming could escalate into something physical,” the report states.
Nguyen called girls in his class “gold diggers,” and threatened to “chop off” two students’ hair if he found out they were dating, which they told police made them uncomfortable.
Nguyen was busted on March 10 and charged with seven counts of child abuse or neglect and seven counts of unlawful contact with a minor.
He was also reported to administrators by a fellow teacher, who said he had made her feel uncomfortable by making “advances” toward her and giving her “unwanted” gifts, according to the report.
Nguyen admitted during a police interview that he “had been doing some of these acts for years” — but defended it as trying to “entertain the students,” the report states.
He dismissed it as “him being funny” — while conceding that “he could see why some of his actions were weird now,” the report stated
The educator, who had been employed by Nevada’s Clark County School District since January 2007, posted $15,000 bail but was told to stay away from his former place of work, have no contact with minors, and be on medium-level electronic monitoring.