UPDATE: N.J. parents angry after learning 4 students were bound with tape by school staff in possible 'joke gone bad'

LONG BRANCH — Two maintenance workers at a Long Branch elementary school have been suspended with pay after allegedly tying up four students in a bathroom, according to reports on the websites of WNYW-5 and WCBS-2.

The 10-year-old boys were bound and gagged by their mouth and hands with caution tape by two adults at Gregory Elementary School on Thursday, the report said. The students were also photographed while they were tied up, though it's possible the incident was part of a joke, Channel 2 reported.

“It has been expressed to us this was in jest without malice and I hope that’s accurate but in the end, unfortunately, the misconduct leads us to provide some consequences for the employees,” Long Branch superintendent Michael Salvatore told CBS 2.

There is no indication that the boys were sexually assaulted. Neither employee has been arrested. Surveillance camera captured the two men entering a bathroom that was closed for repairs. Four boys entered the bathroom a short time later.

The Long Branch police, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and DYFS are investigating, the Fox 5 report said.