A fifth grade teacher in Las Vegas has been arrested on charges including child abuse and contact with a minor

Students accused Kha Nam Nguyen of playing unsettling games like "knife-tag" and making inappropriate comments that left them uncomfortable

Nguyen reportedly admitted to some actions, claiming they were meant to build rapport

A fifth grade teacher in Las Vegas has been arrested after being accused of inappropriate behavior by multiple students.

The Clark County School District's police department announced the arrest of 51-year-old Kha Nam Nguyen, a teacher at Wing and Lilly Fong Elementary School, on Friday, March 13, per local outlets KTNV, Fox5, KLAS and KSNV. 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, per KLAS.

An arrest report obtained by the outlets detailed some of the complaints that were leveled against Nguyen, including startling "games" that he allegedly played with the children.

One was referred to as "knife-tag." The game allegedly involved the educator turning off the lights in his classroom and walking around while holding a "cake knife." KTNV noted that a "large, serrated bread knife" was found in a cabinet in his classroom, per an arrest report obtained by the outlet.

The outlet reported that "knife-tag" is why Nguyen faced a charge of child abuse or neglect.

Nguyen also reportedly played a "teddy bear game," in which he would hug a student, "predominantly female," whom stood in as a "teddy bear," while he would "pretend to be distraught or cry," per the arrest report. The student was supposed to provide a form of comfort.

Multiple students shared similar complaints about the teacher, saying that he made them feel "uncomfortable and scared," per the outlet. One student told the police that the "teddy bear game" left them feeling "weird in a bad way."

The students also accused the teacher of inappropriate touching, making uncomfortable comments — including "shipping" students as couples and referring to girls as "gold diggers" — as well as referring to students as "special ed" when they incorrectly answered questions, per the arrest report

Fox5 noted that students also claimed Nguyen displayed "violent tendencies, including harsh language and flipping desks, per the arrest report.

Nguyen spoke with police and reportedly admitted to "doing some of these acts for years." Per KTNV, he said that it was a form of "rapport building" and was meant to "entertain the students." However, he specifically denied the allegation that he referred to students as "special ed."

"Throughout the interview, Nguyen justified his actions as a way to entertain kids, him just being funny, to gain the class's attention, and for rapport building," investigators wrote in the arrest report, per KNTV. "At one point during the interview, Nguyen mentioned that he could see why some of his actions were weird now that he was talking about it."

Per Fox5 and KLAS, Nguyen was released on a $15,000 bail but cannot return to the school. The latter outlet reported that he was "on medium-level electronic monitoring."

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KTNV reported that there have been previous complaints about Nguyen.

The school's principal told police that administrators had previously responded to complaints about Nguyen, including an anonymous complaint about "unprofessional statements" toward students and separate complaints from staff members about "unwanted advances" and "unwanted gifts."

PEOPLE contacted the Clark County School District and Wing and Lilly Fong Elementary School for comment but did not immediately hear back.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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