School band leader accused of duct-taping 9-year-old's mouth

EAST NEW YORK (WABC) -- A volunteer band leader has been accused of duct-taping a 9-year-old boy's mouth shut at IS 292 in Brooklyn.

Kenyatte Hughes, 39, who volunteered at IS 292 in East New York, was arrested Tuesday morning.

Hughes was charged with assault, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal possession of a weapon. He was arraigned Wednesday and released without bail.

The boy sustained a minor laceration to his lip and minor swelling in the incident that happened Monday inside a classroom.

A spokesman for the New York City Department of Education said that Hughes is not a DOE employee. "Mr. Hughes has been a volunteer at an after-school program at IS 292. These charges are deeply troubling, and Mr. Hughes will no longer be allowed in IS 292 or any of our schools."

Hughes was the subject of a short film in 2008 "Soul Tigers" that was made as part of the Glamour Reel Docs series, a film project by the women's magazine and sponsored by Tommy Hilfiger's Dreaming fragrance.

Hughes made a frenzied dash from State Supreme Court Wednesday and was hustled toward the door of the courthouse by his attorney.

He would not say a word when asked about his arrest. Hughes then rushed to a waiting car again without addressing the charges.

According to court documents, at IS 292 where the victim was in band practice with Hughes and other students, Hughes allegedly placed duct tape over the victim's mouth.

The 9-year old boy then suffered a cracked bloody lip and swelling when the tape was pulled.

"Someone had to really push him over the edge to do something like that. That I don't understand, because he is a very low key, very well mannered," said a friend of Hughes, 'Mr. E.'.

Mr. E has known Hughes for years and closely followed his work with the band since Hughes began volunteering with the students and their music. He is shocked by the charges.

"My granddaughter used to be in the band last year before she graduated from here. So yes, he's a very nice guy. I know he is very serious about his business."

"That's the last thing you would do to a boy like that," said area resident Fernando Torres.

Torres has seen the students with Hughes practicing their band routines in a nearby park. He sees the charges as disturbing.

"I know of his actions and his deeds and they seem to be noble. He probably just made a mistake, choosing the wrong thing to do to that student," said Torres.

Kenyatte Hughes is said to be the founder and Director of the Soul Tigers Marching Band teaching students. Others say he has taken them to competitions.

Hughes was also the subject of the documentary Glamour Reel Docs in 2008 which detailed the process of his marching band getting uniforms. So his arrest on the assault charges, his friends say, just doesn't fit the man.

"He put this band together. They brought in over $50,000 for the school, because they didn't have a band and instruments. He put on a lot of shows. He put the school on the map," said Mr. E.

ABC News contributed to this report.