Los Angeles teacher, Mark Berndt, charged with molesting 23 children ~UPDATE: Berndt Sentenced To 25 Years In Prison

A U.S. school teacher bound and gagged nearly two dozen children, put cockroaches on some of their faces and posed in photos with them, possibly inside a classroom, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday.

A department statement said 61-year-old Mark Berndt was arrested Monday and remained jailed Tuesday on $2.3 million bail. The district attorney's office said Berndt has been charged with committing lewd acts with 23 boys and girls ages 6 to 10, according to the Associated Press.

The investigation began when a film processor gave authorities about 40 photographs depicting blindfolded children in a classroom with their mouths taped shut.

Some of the photos showed girls with what appears to be a spoon up to their mouths as if they were going to ingest a clear-white liquid. A spoon and container found in trash in Berndt's classroom tested positive for semen, the sheriff's department statement said.

Some of the children's mouths and faces had large, live Madagascar-type cockroaches on them, according to the statement.

Some photos showed Berndt with his arm around the children or with his hand over their mouths.
"I am sickened and horrified by the behavior of Mark Berndt," Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy said in a statement.

Sheriff's Lt. Carlos Marquez of the Special Victims Bureau said it was determined the children were given semen on a spoon or on a cookie. Marquez said the children reported they didn't like the taste.

The children reportedly told police their teacher said it was a game and the substance was "sugar," according to MyFoxLA.com.

Authorities are recommending the children be tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

Berndt is charged with committing lewd acts between 2008 and 2010. He worked for more than 30 years at Miramonte Elementary School in south Los Angeles. The school serves a poor, mainly Hispanic neighborhood. More than half of its approximately 1,400 students are still learning English, according to the school's website.
Berndt was immediately removed and fired when police informed the school district, Deasy said.

None of the alleged victims told anyone about the incidents and photos, Marquez said.

"They didn't know they were being violated in that manner. They just thought it was a game," Marquez said.
The incidents occurred during school hours but not all the children were Berndt's students, Marquez said.
Berndt has never been married, has no children and there's no indication of a previous arrest record, authorities said.

The sheriff's department said a search warrant served on Berndt's home led to the discovery of more than 100 similar photographs depicting children.

A DVD depicting adult sexual bondage activity "which mirrored the bondage-type photos of the children" was also found during the search, according to authorities.

"The adults in the bondage video were not identified and the images in that video are not a crime," the department said in a statement.

The department said about 10 children seen in photos have not been identified.

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This undated police booking photo released by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department shows former Los Angeles teacher Mark Berndt, 61, who was arrested for felony molestation of 23 kids after photos surfaced. Berndt been charged with committing lewd acts with 23 boys and girls ages 6 to 10, according to the Associated Press.

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This POS is so vile and disgusting!!! And it sounds like he gets off putting those huge cockroaches on those poor children's faces. What a sicko.
And he hand fed them semen in a plastic spoon! OMG this makes me sick and I would love to get a hold of this guy myself. Telling those children that it was sugar, most of us know the taste is no where near children. I so hope these children get the proper counseling, they're sure going to need it. And this POS lives in the same city I do. sick, sick, sick.

Wow, after reading your above post first Raine, I can't, just can't read the rest of this thread. I am sick to my stomach. What is with all of these sick people in this world today. POS is right.

NiteSpinR wrote:WHAT THE F>>>????
Our children are not safe anywhere... ANYWHERE!!!

Our children and grandchildren are NOT safe anywhere at all, even with some family members. What is this world coming to? A teacher use to be a very highly respected person in our child's lives. This man probably has taught for so long that he never had the background checks that the schools are supposed to do today to prevent this. I feel bad for the excellent teachers that are given a bad name by scum like this man. I never say this, but is going on in this world.

I second, or third that emotion!! Sickening!!

LOS ANGELES – An elementary school reeling from allegations of lewd conduct against children by two teachers is closed to students today and Wednesday as administrators meet with shocked and angry parents.

More than a quarter of Miramonte Elementary School students didn't attend classes Monday, Los Angeles schools spokesman Tom Waldman said. About three dozen parents and their supporters protested outside the school.

Waldman said the two-day closing "is primarily for a cooling-off period." He said the decision to close was made late Sunday, and school system officials went ahead with classes Monday because there was too little time to get the word to families of students.

"There's a lot of anxiety and concern with the parents," Waldman said. "There's concern about how many kids may have experienced bad things."

Police last week charged Mark Berndt, 61, who taught at the school for 32 years until administrators removed him from the classroom last year, with committing lewd acts on 23 children, ages 6 to 10, between 2005 and 2010. The alleged acts included blindfolding children in his classroom and feeding them his semen in what children allegedly were told was a tasting game.

A second and current teacher, Martin Springer, 49, was arrested Friday on suspicion of fondling two girls in his classroom. Springer had taught at Miramonte since 1985.

Both remain in jail. Bail was set at $23 million for Berndt, who could face life in prison if convicted. Springer's bail was set at $2 million.

Los Angeles School Superintendent John Deasy was meeting with parents Monday evening. Waldman said Deasy would discuss with parents "the next steps, the plan for the school going forward."

The school is in an unincorporated area of south Los Angeles, outside the city boundaries but within its school district. The school's website says it serves a minority community that is predominantly Hispanic and low income. It has nearly 1,400 students, 98% Hispanic and 2% African-American, and all the students receive free or reduced-price meals under a federal school lunch program.

Waldman said Springer, a second-grade teacher, was removed from his classroom last week when the allegations came to light. The school board will consider firing him this week, he said.

Berndt was removed from teaching in January 2011, and he resigned before the school's firing process was complete, Waldman said

About three dozen people demonstrated at the school on Monday.

Some protesters are demanding cameras be placed in classrooms and hallways at the school.


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US teacher's aide sent love letters to boy
By CHRISTINA HOAG | Associated Press – 3 hrs ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Officials at a Los Angeles school rocked by teacher sex abuse claims are investigating yet another allegation of misconduct, this one involving a teacher's aide in her 50s accused of sending love letters to an 11-year-old boy.

The boys' mother told the Los Angeles Times newspaper that the aide, a woman in her 50s, sent at least three letters to her son in 2009, including one that read: "when you get close to me, even if you give me the chills I like that. Don't tell nobody about this!"

The allegations come as school district administrators move to replace the entire staff at Miramonte Elementary School while the Los Angeles Unified School District investigates two teachers arrested last week.

Mark Berndt, 61, is charged with committing lewd acts on children, ages 6 to 10, between 2005 and 2010. The alleged acts include blindfolding children, feeding them semen, taping their mouths and photographing them in a "game." Berndt was fired in January 2011.

The furor led to two parents coming forward to complain that teacher Martin Springer, 49, fondled two second-grade girls in his classroom. The school board on Tuesday voted unanimously to fire Springer.

Police have set forth no connection between the cases, but parents' confidence has been badly shaken.

In the latest allegations, the teacher's aide wrote a letter signing herself "sad girl" because she was being transferred to another school, the mother alleged.

The mother went to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which directed her to the school. During a meeting that included the mother, her son, his teacher and an assistant principal, the teacher's aide acknowledged writing letters and said she had a grandmotherly affection for the boy.

The aide no longer works for the school system, district spokeswoman Gayle Pollard-Terry said.

All 120 staff members at Miramonte will be replaced as of Thursday.

"It's the most severe action I've seen taken by a school district," said Terri Miller, president of Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct and Exploitation, an advocacy organization based in Las Vegas.

The decision Monday came after about three dozen people protested in front of the main doors of the school earlier in the day, some carrying a banner that read, "We the parents demand our children be protected from lewd teacher acts."

School sex abuse expert Mary Jo McGrath, an attorney who has conducted some 350 abuse investigations, said the investigation could uncover more cases.

"It's not a witch hunt, it's just that someone is really looking," she said. "Cases start unpeeling like an onion. It's always the same pattern."

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Detectives investigating a Miramonte Elementary School teacher accused of lewd acts against students this week discovered 200 new photos he allegedly took of students.

The new photos were recovered late last week from a South Bay CVS pharmacy after a search of the drug store's computer systems for photos from former teacher Mark Berndt, said Sheriff Sgt. Dan Scott.

It was same location that initially yielded 40 images in the fall of 2010 and led authorities to begin a more than a year-long investigation of the educator. When Berndt was arrested last week, authorities said they recovered a total of 400 photos gathered from various locations including his home.

Scott said the new photos -- like the others -- showed children with mouths taped over, blindfolded and sometimes with a cockroach on them or eating from a spoon. He said there are some new children's faces in the batch of photos. Prosecutors allege that Berndt spoon-fed his semen to blindfolded children as part of what he called a “tasting game.”

Berndt was charged with 23 felony counts and was being held on $23-million bail.

On Monday, Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. John Deasy announced he was removing the entire staff of Miramonte and replacing them with new personnel. Deasy said he took the action to help restore parent confidence in the school.

The Times has reported that several people said they complained about Berndt’s conduct over the last 20 years. Deasy said he’s launched investigations aimed at examining a possible "culture of silence” at the school in which “someone could have known something and then chose not to act."

When Berndt, 61, was arrested, school district officials said they had no record of any previous misconduct or complaints against him. But evidence of past warning signs has since emerged.

One former student said in an interview with The Times that during the 1990-91 school year a counselor told her and two other girls to stop inventing stories after a complaint that Berndt appeared to be masturbating behind his desk. In 1994, detectives investigated a complaint that Berndt had tried to touch a girl's genitals, though prosecutors deemed the evidence too weak to file charges.

And one father said that he complained in 2008 to the Miramonte principal after his daughter brought home photographs that Berndt had taken of her. In one image, she was eating a cookie coated with what investigators now suspect is Berndt's semen.
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Mark Berndt

One of two girls who accused a Miramonte Elementary School teacher of fondling her has recanted her story, according to law enforcement sources.

Martin Bernard Springer, 49, was charged Tuesday with three counts of committing lewd acts. He was arrested Friday after two students at the school accused him of fondling them.

But the charges filed Tuesday only involve one girl. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing, said one of two two alleged victims had changed her story in the last few days.

Springer has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Judge Upinder Kalra set bail at $300,000 and directed that Springer wear an ankle monitoring device if released. He must also stay 100 yards from the alleged victim and witnesses, and 250 feet from schools and parks, and may not be in the company of minors without a supervising adult.

If convicted, Springer, of Alhambra, faces a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison, district attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.

Springer's arrest came as the elementary school in the unincorporated Florence-Firestone neighborhood of South Los Angeles was still reeling from the arrest of former teacher Mark Berndt, 61.

Prosecutors allege that Berndt spoon-fed his semen to blindfolded children as part of what he called a "tasting game." Police have collected hundreds of disturbing photos; in some, children are shown with a milky substance around their mouths.

Berndt was charged with 23 felony counts and was being held in lieu of $23-million bail.

Springer, like Berndt, had spent his entire teaching career at Miramonte. Berndt, a Torrance resident, began working as a teacher there in 1979, Springer in 1986.
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It sure sounds like LAUSD paid absolutely no attention to what was going on with the students that they were supposed to protect and this POS Berndt ran unchecked for years. It makes me absolutely sick that even thou' there were complaints made they fell mostly on deaf ears and this creep's personal file was clean.
It sounds like the other teacher, Springer went unheard of until a week or two ago when he was accused of fondling by two girls, immediately put on leave (as it should be), charges finally filed yesterday but only by one girl as the other recanted and then he was fired from a life long job.
Please do not misunderstand me, I loathe what happened to these kids and this Berndt guy seems to be 100% guilty with evidence to back it up. Springer may be guilty as sin or he might have been caught up in the mass hysteria shown on the local news here every night. Not that there's no reason for parents to be upset, mad as hell and protesting, I would not want to be in their shoes. Inside of a week there's this second teacher, a love letter from a 50 something year old teachers aide to a child, and suddenly and without warning an entire staff at the school was uprooted and moved with a new one plopped in that fast. I sure hope that Sacramento is keeping a good eye on what LAUSD is doing. I hope this hasn't turned into a witch hunt. I remember another witch hunt here back in the 80's that only resulted in a lot of children being damaged physically and emotionally but there was no justice. I remember that investigation taking on speed just like this one and I just hope this time they get it right. MOO.

FLORENCE-GRAHAM, SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A former Miramonte Elementary School teacher was released from sheriff's custody Thursday night.

One of two teachers accused in a Miramonte Elementary School scandal, Martin Springer, was released from L.A. County Sheriff's custody after 7 p.m. Thursday. He was arrested Friday and was held on $300,000 bail.

According to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office, Springer's release restrictions were: He must stay at least 100 yards away from victims/witnesses; stay 250 feet away from school, park, playground or other areas where children are gathered; and he cannot be in the company of a child unless there is a responsible adult present; and he must wear a SCRAM tracking bracelet.

Former teacher Mark Berndt was arrested last week and charged with 23 counts of lewd acts on children ages 6 to 10. The 61-year-old third-grade teacher was fired when the investigation began.

The investigation began after Berndt, a teacher at the school for 30 years, tried to develop photos of students, and a film processor at a CVS turned them over to police.

According to authorities, the first batch of photos showed children blindfolded with cockroaches on their faces and spoons full of semen in front of their mouths.

Wednesday, police said they found 200 more pictures at the same CVS pharmacy's photo printing database, bringing the total number of photos to roughly 600.
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This is one very case. I totally agree with all of your comments Raine. I can hardly stand to read about this.

Civil cases may hamper investigation into Los Angeles teacher charged with lewd acts on students
Published February 19, 2012

The investigation into a former third-grade teacher charged with committing lewd acts on students could be hampered by the flood of civil cases related to the scandal and public statements made by alleged victims, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives.
Investigators told the Los Angeles Times they are concerned that Mark Berndt's defense team could use statements by alleged victims and their attorneys to point out inconsistencies and to suggest that they have a financial motive for accusing the teacher.

The charges against Berndt, 61, were made public Jan. 31. He faces 23 counts of lewd acts upon children, ages 6 to 10. Since the charges were announced, civil attorneys say they are representing more than 60 victims, the Times reported. Earlier this week, two alleged victims appeared with their attorney on the "Dr. Phil" television show.
"The lawyers are making it that much more difficult," William McSweeney, chief of detectives for the Sheriff's Department, told the newspaper. "It is going to raise issues of credibility."
The civil attorneys have made claims about Berndt that are not contained in the original charges, including some accusations -- repeated on "Dr. Phil" -- that Berndt fed the alleged victims cookies with his semen on them.
Investigators say that although they suspect Berndt fed his semen to some students during "tasting games," they have no evidence to prove it.
Last week, one attorney suggested that another teacher at Miramonte was involved in the Berndt case. The department took the unusual step of publicly stating the teacher was not a suspect in the case.
Berndt's attorney has declined requests to discuss the case.
The civil attorneys say new alleged victims are continuing to come forward. Detectives are still investigating and are urging families to contact the Sheriff's Department before seeking private counsel.
In interviews with the Times over the past two weeks, plaintiffs' attorneys and some parents are have provided details and added new allegations that go well beyond the criminal complaint.
Prosecutors have the advantage of physical evidence, in the form of hundreds of photographs that Berndt allegedly took of his students.
At least two families said they were so disturbed by the photos that they raised concerns at the school. But there is little indication that the children complained about what was going on in Berndt's classroom.
"It's a grotesque form of eroticism," attorney Matthew McNicholas, who represents six alleged victims, told the Times. "That's why, for the most part, it doesn't register with these kids. They just don't know how to comprehend it."
Meanwhile, superintendent John Deasy sent a video message to all 85,000 employees of the LA Unified School District, saying the allegations at Miramonte don't diminish their work.
"Just because a few members have done terrible things," Deasy said in the video posted Saturday by the LA Daily News, "that does not reflect on the amazing teachers, leadership and classified staff I see every day at LAUSD."
The four-minute video, titled "Breaking the Silence," encourages employees to learn from what Deasy calls the "tragedy" at Miramonte Elementary -- starting with a review of the district's child abuse training.
Deasy also explains the status of the Miramonte staff and faculty who were replaced while the district investigates the allegations. The removed staff members have been relocated to a new, unopened high school nearby.
Deasy says they are being interviewed by police and district investigators and counselors, and attending professional development classes.
All will have the chance to return after the investigation, Deasy said.

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February 21

LOS ANGELES — A former teacher whose arrest sparked a scandal at an elementary school that led to the replacement of all of its teachers pleaded not guilty Tuesday to committing lewd acts with 23 children in his classroom.

Mark Berndt, 61, remained jailed on $23 million bail. He was the first of two teachers arrested within a week on molestation charges involving students at Miramonte Elementary School.


(Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, file/Associated Press) - FILE - This undated police booking photo released by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department shows former Los Angeles teacher Mark Berndt, 61, who was arrested for felony molestation of 23 kids after photos surfaced. For much of the last year, sheriff’s detectives delicately and quietly investigated the case of Miramonte Elementary School teacher Berndt after discovering photographs of students gagged and blindfolded, some allegedly tasting his semen from a spoon. But they proceeded gingerly, desperate to prevent rumors from spreading around the campus that could taint the testimony of children.

Martin Springer, 49, previously pleaded not guilty after he was charged with committing three lewd acts on one girl in 2009. He is free on $300,000 bail.

The entire Miramonte staff was replaced — at least temporarily — as the investigation proceeds.

Former students have sued, alleging other molestation incidents.

Outside the courtroom where Berndt was arraigned, his attorney, Victor Acevedo, complained that deputies used a loudspeaker system at the jail to identify Berndt to other inmates as a child molestation suspect.
He said the actions “put a bulls-eye on his head,” placing his client in danger.
“Anyone accused of these charges, who is in the custody of the Sheriff’s Department, always runs the risk of their personal safety, for obvious reasons,” Acevedo said. awe poor poor little predator!

Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore told City News Service that an investigation has been launched into the claim.

Berndt was a teacher for more than 30 years at Miramonte. He was arrested in January and charged with committing lewd acts on children as young as 6.

Hundreds of photographs were found of children with blindfolds and tape over their mouths. Some photos depicted children being fed a white liquid which authorities allege was the teacher’s semen.

Berndt was ordered back to court on March 28, when a date will be set for his preliminary hearing.

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Outside the courtroom where Berndt was arraigned, his attorney, Victor Acevedo, complained that deputies used a loudspeaker system at the jail to identify Berndt to other inmates as a child molestation suspect.
He said the actions “put a bulls-eye on his head,” placing his client in danger.
“Anyone accused of these charges, who is in the custody of the Sheriff’s Department, always runs the risk of their personal safety, for obvious reasons,” Acevedo said

Those deputies have the right idea!! :cheering:

Mothers in Los Angeles school child sex abuse case sue district

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Fourteen mothers, whose children prosecutors say were sexually abused by a Los Angeles teacher facing 23 felony charges, sued the school district on Tuesday seeking damages for "generalized shock and trauma."
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, also seeks unspecified "compensatory economic and special damages for medical expenses," which include psychological therapy, according to court papers and attorneys for the plaintiffs.
The suit also seeks reforms to the Los Angeles Unified School District, which "has a practice and custom of maintaining a 'Culture of Silence' to hide teacher misconduct, and to ignore teacher misconduct," the suit said.
The legal action stems from a criminal case against former teacher Mark Berndt of Miramonte Elementary, who is being held on $23 million bond and faces 23 felony counts of lewd acts on children.
Parent reacts to school abuse scandal Why abuse at LA school went for so long
Berndt, 61, pleaded not guilty in February to allegations he bound young students, then photographed them with semen-filled spoons held at their mouths and three-inch cockroaches crawling across their faces, among other graphic depictions.
L.A. schools review past 40 years of teacher discipline cases in misconduct crisis
The 23 victims were between 7 and 10 years old, and all but two of them were girls, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.
The 14 mothers' lawsuit says Berndt took photographs of their children "with cookies in the mouths of plaintiff's children, and/or blindfolded the children, and/or placed cockroaches on the bodies of plaintiff's children, for the intent of arousing and gratifying the lust, passions and sexual desires of Mark Berndt."
One of two mothers who spoke at a press conference on Tuesday said her now 10-year-old daughter was victimized by Berndt while a student at Miramonte from 2009 to 2010. CNN, which has interviewed the mother in recent months, isn't identifying the mother or other parents in order to protect the identities of the children.
"I am asking for justice and I want justice to be done to this man," the mother, 43, said. She wants the district to be held accountable for its "negligence," she said.
In a recent CNN interview, the mother said her daughter went to Berndt's classroom, where "he would give her some cookies. My daughter told me that the teacher would say the cookies had sugar and some white stuff that was on it," the mother said.
In that CNN interview, the mother was joined by her daughter, who told CNN: "We would help him clean his class and he would give us cookies.
"They were white and they had a white stuff on top, and he would put some sort of powder" on the cookie, the girl said. The parents told CNN they didn't tell their daughter what could have been on the cookie.
The girl's father, 46, who joined his wife at Tuesday's press conference, told CNN the couple doesn't want money but rather justice, so other families won't "suffer what's happening to us," the dad said. Their daughter is now enrolled at another school. The daughter and mother are both in counseling, he said.
"We don't want money, because our children's health physically and mentally is not going to be the same," the father said.
California teacher pleads not guilt in student 'bondage' case
The other mother at Tuesday's press conference told reporters that her daughter is now rebellious and is also in counseling.
Five of the children in the civil lawsuit are among the 23 alleged victims in the criminal case, said Luis A. Carrillo, the attorney for the 14 mothers.
Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives are investigating the accusations of the nine other children identified as victims in the civil suit, Carrillo said.
Sheriff's Lt. Carlos Marquez, the lead investigator in the case, said Tuesday that detectives interviewed more than 100 Miramonte students and have presented all those cases to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office for review.
It's up to the district attorney whether to bring charges on behalf of additional victims, beyond the current 23, Marquez said.
Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, declined to comment Tuesday on whether additional charges would be filed.
Berndt's attorney, public defender Victor Acevedo, declined to comment Tuesday because he hadn't seen the lawsuit.
David Holmquist, general counsel for the Los Angeles school district, said student safety was the system's "paramount priority."
"The district is committed to working with the Miramonte community and everyone impacted by these incidents to improve trust and promote healing," Holmquist said in a statement. "While the district has yet to receive the latest complaint, we are continuing our efforts to ensure that we are doing everything possible to provide a safe learning and working environment for our students and staff."
In May, another civil lawsuit was filed against the school district on behalf of 22 children who claimed they were sexually abused by Berndt, said Carrillo, who also is the attorney for the plaintiffs in that case.
The lawsuit, also filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleged that Berndt "engaged in sexual assault, sexual harassment, which includes sex discrimination per LAUSD's policies, and/or sexual exploitation of the plaintiffs that included lewd, obscene and/or lascivious acts" with the 22 children age 6 to 9 years old between 2002 and 2011, court papers said.
The children of the 14 mothers in Tuesday's lawsuit are also part of the May lawsuit, Carrillo said.
In December 2010, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department began investigating Berndt after authorities learned of hundreds of "questionable photographs of children on film that Mr. Berndt had brought (to) a local store to have developed," according to Tuesday's lawsuit.
Berndt was removed from his teaching job in January 2011 after school officials learned of the police investigation, authorities said.
Authorities have said they have discovered roughly 600 images allegedly taken by Berndt in his classroom.
A teacher for 30 years, Berndt initially challenged the school district's decision to dismiss him. But he eventually dropped his appeal and resigned in spring 2011.
His arrest in January led to broader fallout over the adequacy of safeguards for the school's students and the prospect of more victims.
Days after Berndt was taken into custody, another Miramonte Elementary teacher -- Martin Springer, 49 -- was arrested and charged with three felony counts of lewd acts with a girl younger than 14. He has pleaded not guilty.
The Los Angeles Unified School District board subsequently shut Miramonte for two days, during which the board reconstituted the entire staff in the 1,400-student school. Miramonte is in unincorporated Los Angeles County within the Florence-Firestone area, about six miles south of downtown Los Angeles.

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Hearing Delayed for Former Miramonte Teacher Charged With Child Molestation



Six months after a teacher at Miramonte Elementary School was accused of felony child molestation, a judge on Thursday agreed to put off again the scheduling of the preliminary hearing to give prosecutors more time to investigate the case.

Former Miramonte teacher Mark Berndt, 61, was clean-shaven and clad in an orange prison jumpsuit, his hands shackled, as he appeared in court facing 23 counts of alleged abuse against children ages 6 to 10 years old at the school in the unincorporated Florence-Firestone area.

The former teacher allegedly blindfolded students, placed roaches on their faces, dangled spoons filled with semen near their mouths and forced them to eat cookies laced with bodily fluid as part of a "tasting game," according to prosecutors.

The judge delayed the date to set the preliminary hearing until Oct. 18.

At the preliminary hearing, the prosecution must show the court it has enough evidence to continue to trial.

Six months ago, authorities were raising the possibility of additional counts of abuse, but none have materialized. Thursday’s continuance leaves the high-profile case in a holding pattern, and Berndt remains imprisoned on $23 million bail.

Victor Acevado, Berndt’s defense attorney, said his client denies all of the charges, and that he is looking forward to getting the case in front of a jury.

The delay stems from the prosecution’s investigation, Acevado said.

"It's really been more of a delay on their end in finishing their investigation,” Acevado said. "And then obviously I have to do my own investigation."

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Nov 15, 2013
A former Southern California elementary school teacher accused of sexually abusing students -- allegedly taking photos of them when they were blindfolded and gagged -- pleaded no contest Friday to charges stemming from a case that sparked outrage in a South LA community.

A no contest plea by Mark Berndt, 62, avoids a trial at which Miramonte Elementary School students -- 7 to 10 years old at the time of the crimes -- would likely testify. Several of the victims' parents testified Friday about the pain their families endured.

"I wake up every morning asking God to give me the strength to explain this to my daughter," said mother of a 9-year-old victim, speaking in Spanish through an interpreter. "That one of her favorite teachers did this to her."

Berndt, of Torrance, was charged with 23 counts of committing lewd acts on a child between 2005 and 2011. He pleaded no contest as each charge was read in court before he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Berndt, who will receive about two years of credit for time served, previously entered a not guilty plea.

The victims' attorneys said earlier this week they believe Berndt will make the no contest plea Friday to avoid life in prision.

The packed courtroom included victims' parents and students. About seven to 10 victim-impact statements were delivered during the hearing.

"Our lives have been destroyed by this," said a weeping parent.

"I'm pleading not to give him only 25 years, he deserves more," said another parent. "I don't think he's sorry."

Berndt's attoney said at the hearing this his client is "apologetic, he is sorry, he is remorseful."

"Mr. Berndt is not a monster -- he's not an evil person," said attorney Manny Medrano. "Mistakes were made. At no time was there any credible evidence that Mr. Berndt inappropriately touched student or touched them in a sexual manner."

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy issued a statement after the hearing.

"While the school district was not a party to the prosecutor's plea deal with Mr. Berndt, we are relieved that the students and families will be able to put this part of the proceedings behind them," said Deasy. "As a community of educators, we remain tireless advocates for student safety. We will continue to implement reforms and push for statewide changes to protect students, including calling for a strong teacher dismissal bill that will enable us to remove teachers who violate the public’s trust and hurt students."

Later, Deasy verbally spoke out about the trial, angered over the difficulty in working with state legislature to change laws that make it easier to fire employees accused of sexual misconduct with students.

"If my tone appears angry, it's because I've been angry for two years," Deasy said. "I'm angry that we've been unable to change laws to protect students."

"All I hear through the process is, 'I'm not comfortable with those changes,'" he continued. "Really? You're not comfortable with those changes? Come with me and spend time with some of the victims at Miramonte. It is beyond my comprehension as to why we cannot stand on higher ground."

The accusations against Berndt began in late 2010 when a film processor at a store contacted police about images that depicted children in a classroom. Some were wearing blindfolds and had tape covering their mouths, according to prosecutors.

Miramonte Scandal: Timeline of Events

He also allegedly laced cookies with his semen and fed them to children in a classroom tasting game, according to authorities.

Berndt was fired soon after the investigation and arrested in January 2012. The case stirred outrage among parents at the South LA school, which was closed and reopened with a new staff in February 2012.

The school district settled 61 of the more than 120 civil lawsuits stemming from the case last month.

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