Science Teacher Brands Students’ Skin With ‘I ♥ mom’ In Bizarre Classroom Experiment

An Oregon science teacher, Samuel Dufner, branded his students’ skin with ‘I ♥ mom’ during a bizarre classroom experiment, police said.

He was arrested Tuesday, but a prosecutor said he won’t press charges at this time for the tattoo-like markings.

The 37-year-old teacher used a Tesla coil, a type of electrical transformer, to demonstrate chemical reactions during a lesson last week, police said. The Tesla transmits electricity without wires at high-frequency and high-voltage levels, and can produce electrical burn-like markings.

Dufner first touched the coil himself to show off the reaction, and then asked if any students wanted to be burned too, students said.

“He took like the probe and he touched my hand and I pulled my hand away and it was done,” student Aminna Ackridge told KATU. “It hurt me a little bit, but as soon as I pulled my hand away the pain was gone.”

Some students requested Dufnet hold the coil on for longer to make a more district mark, students told the Salem Statesman Journal.

So Dufner used the coil to burn tattoo-like designs into some students’ skin — at least two walked away with burns that read “I ♥ mom,” police said.

“He was making, like, smiley faces and stars, but some students wanted to see how long they could hold it there,” said Cheyenne Ward, a 17-year-old junior. “Almost every student did it, and everyone was laughing when they went up there.”

Dufner, who teaches both physical and marine science, was charged with two counts of criminal mistreatment Tuesday. He was released from jail on $2,000 bail a day later.

“By law he has a duty to protect them,” Salem police Lt. Steve Birr said of the teacher. “He inflicted the burns and, in fact, assaulted them.” He added that all the marks on the students’ skin have since faded.

However, some of Dufner’s students defended the lesson.

“I think this whole thing has been blown out of proportion,” 17-year-old Angelica Avdeyeva told the newspaper. “He never wanted to hurt anybody, and I don’t think he should have been arrested. This is his career, you know? He has a family, and we all feel bad.”

Investigation is ongoing and officials said charges could be filed in the future.

Meanwhile, the Salem-Keizer School District have placed Dufner on leave.

What’s your take on the experiment?

Source: nydailynews