Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/teacher-arrested-lewd-acts-told-children-it-was-game.html
Teacher charged with lewd acts allegedly told kids it was 'game'
January 31, 2012

(http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef01630075a9e8970d-800wi)

A Miramonte Elementary School teacher who taught for three decades in South L.A. told students they would be playing "a game" before tying them up and feeding them from a spoon possibly containing semen, sources said.

Mark Berndt, 61, who is charged with lewd acts on 23 children and was taken into custody Monday, told the children the spoon contained something sugary and sweet, but authorities said they believed the substance was his semen, said the sources, who declined to comment on the record because the investigation is ongoing.

Berndt was fired in March and was being held Tuesday on $2.3-million bail.

A spoon recovered from a trash bin in Berndt's classroom is a key piece of evidence, said Capt. Mike Parker of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

"Early in the investigation, special victims bureau detectives recovered a blue plastic spoon and an empty container from the trash within the suspect’s classroom," Parker said. "The recovered items tested positive for semen."

Through further investigation, the suspect’s DNA was obtained and tested, and officials said it matched that of the DNA found on the spoon and container.

Berndt's arrest capped a nearly yearlong investigation by the L.A. County sheriff's special victims unit.

The investigation began when a photo processor turned over to authorities pictures of some alleged acts of bondage and the spoon-feeding, officials said.

The 23 alleged victims are both boys and girls and ranged in age from 7 to 10. The crimes occurred between 2008 and 2010, Parker said.
More...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-01-31/los-angeles-teacher-molestation-photos/52900840/1
Ex-L.A. teacher charged with molesting 23 children
January 31, 2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A Los Angeles 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 Mark Berndt, 61, 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 7 to 10.

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.
 ::snipping2::
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.

He was immediately removed and fired when police informed the school district, Deasy said.

No student came forward to report the abuse, he 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.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/former-la-elementary-school-teacher-charged-photographing-molesting-23-kids/2012/01/31/gIQAnEd5eQ_story.html
Los Angeles elementary school teacher fired, charged with photographing and molesting 23 kids
January 31, 2012

 ::snipping2::
The investigation started when the film processor gave authorities some 40 photographs depicting blindfolded children in a classroom with their mouths taped shut.

Berndt worked for more than 30 years at Miramonte Elementary School in an unincorporated area of South Los Angeles before being fired as a result of the investigation.

Some of the photos showed Berndt with his arm around children or with his hand over their mouth.

Other pictures depicted girls with what appears to be a spoon up to their mouths as if they were going to ingest a clear-white liquid.

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. A blue plastic spoon and container found in trash in Berndt’s classroom tested positive for semen, the sheriff’s statement said.

None of the photos showed the students actually eating the semen, but Marquez said the children reported they didn’t like the taste.

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

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

The incidents occurred during school hours but not all the children were students of Berndt, Marquez said.
 ::snipping2::
Berndt has never been married, has no children and there’s no indication of a previous arrest record, authorities said.
 ::snipping2::

http://abcnews.go.com/US/teacher-arrested-bondage-photos-students/story?id=15480041
Teacher Charged with Taking Bondage Pics of Students
By Colleen Curry
January 31, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Authorities launched a widespread sex crime investigation, interviewing current and former students and school employees and searching Berndt's home. They recovered a total of 390 photographs and an adult "sexual bondage" film which mirrored the photos of the children, according to a statement by the sheriff's department today.

More than 26 children from the 390 photographs have been identified; an additional 10 children have not yet been identified, police said.
 ::snipping2::
John Deasy, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, said he was made aware of the investigation on Jan. 7, 2011, and fired Berndt the same day.
 ::snipping2::
Deasy said that the school district had been offering crisis counseling and support to the known victims and their families for more than a year, and would continue to do so for any new victims or students that request assistance.

Berndt was arrested Monday and charged with 23 felony counts of lewd acts upon a child. He is being held at LA County jail in lieu of $2.3 million bail.



 

http://www.ksbw.com/r/30340910/detail.html
Teacher Accused Of Taking Elementary Student 'Bondage' Photos
By Alan Duke CNN
January 31, 2012

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A Los Angeles elementary school teacher allegedly took bondage photos of more than two dozen students in his classroom, including some with suspected semen-filled spoons at their mouths, investigators said Tuesday.

The young students "didn't realize they were victimized," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Dan Scott told CNN Tuesday.

"They thought they were being blindfolded and gagged as a game," he said. "And they were rewarded with cookies or spoons full of sugar (but) they did not realize the spoon contained semen."

The photographs also showed "a large 3-inch cockroach that would crawl on their face," Scott said.
 ::snipping2::
Mark Berndt, 61, was arrested on child molestation charges at his Torrance, California, home Monday and is being held pending $2.3 million bond in a Los Angeles County jail, according to Sheriff's Lt. Carlos Marquez.

He is scheduled to make a first appearance before a judge Wednesday morning on 23 counts of lewd acts on a child, according to the county's district attorney.
 ::snipping2::
While the investigation began more than a year ago, the arrest came soon after lab testing matched Berndt's DNA with semen found on a spoon recovered from his classroom, Scott said. Investigators persuaded the suspect to voluntarily give them a DNA sample just two months ago, he said.

The 30-year teaching veteran was removed from his job at Miramonte Elementary School in south Los Angeles on January 7, 2011, the day the sheriff's department told the school district about the investigation, Los Angeles School Superintendent John Deasy said.
 ::snipping2::

How did the neighbor John McManus witness Mark Berndt riding a tandem bike with a young girl about a month ago, when a previous article posted in this thread says "The lieutenant said Berndt was placed under surveillance and it’s believed he had no contact with children during the investigation." The lieutenant being "Sheriff’s Lt. Carlos Marquez of the Special Victims Bureau".  Link to article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/former-la-elementary-school-teacher-charged-photographing-molesting-23-kids/2012/01/31/gIQAnEd5eQ_story.html

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/accused-teacher-seen-riding-bike-with-young-girl-neighbor-says.html
Neighbor says teacher rode tandem bike with young girl
January 31, 2012

 ::snipping2::
John McManus, who said he has known Mark Berndt for 20 years, said he saw the fired grade school teacher a month ago riding a tandem bicycle along the waterfront in Hermosa Beach with a young girl who appeared to be in her early teens.

Berndt seemed unnerved when McManus spotted him, the neighbor said, and later told him: “Don’t tell my sister I was with this young girl."
The neighbor said Berndt told him the girl was one of his students and that they had ridden the bicycle nearly as far as Marina del Rey and back.
 ::snipping2::
Berndt and his sister are owners of the small Torrance apartment complex on Reynolds Drive, property records show, where they and McManus live.
 ::snipping2::
Berndt, who was fired as a teacher in March, was being held Tuesday on $2.3-million bail following his arrest.
 ::snipping2::

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/parents-say-they-trusted-teacher-accused-of-abuse.html
Parents invited teacher accused of abuse to parties, quinceañeras
January 31, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Berndt, 61, was arrested Monday after a yearlong investigation and charged with committing lewd acts on 23 children. Authorities said Berndt blindfolded the children, then spoon-fed them a white substance believed to be his semen. He is accused of tying them up and placing giant Madagascar cockroaches on their faces.

One woman, whose daughter is now 10, was a student in Berndt's classroom when she was 7. The mother said she trusted the teacher so much that she invited him to her daughter's birthday party and recommended that her friend's 14-year-old daughter volunteer in his classroom.

Her story is a common one, according to a district insider familiar with the investigation. Parents had so much trust in Berndt, a fixture at the school, that they invited him to birthday parties and stayed in touch long after their children left his class. He was the sort of teacher who’d be invited to quinceañeras — coming-of-age parties for girls, a tradition in the Latino community.   

"Parents loved him," said the district source who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak. "But the investigators felt the relationship was unnaturally close to the children."
 ::snipping2::
The school district was notified of the allegations on Jan. 7, 2011, and Berndt was removed from the classroom the same day. He was terminated by the district at its next board meeting.

Re:  The green highlighted area:  Why did this parent of a child victim have to come to the school Tuesday (today?) to ask for counseling for his son, when in another article I read: "Deasy said "crisis counseling and support have been provided for more than a year to the known victims and their families, and we continue to offer those necessary services to new victims as they are identified or any student or parents who requests assistance." Link to the article: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/31/10279897-ex-la-teacher-charged-with-molesting-23-children

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/miramonte-teacher-parent-snacks.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lanowblog+%28L.A.+Now%29
Son is pictured eating food tainted by teacher, father says

January 31, 2012

A sheriff's detective called a parent at Miramonte Elementary last spring and told him his now 11-year-old son appeared in photos taken by teacher Mark Berndt, who is charged with abusing 23 children at the school.

The photos showed his son eating cookies with a white substance on them, he said. The photos focused on his mouth, he said.

There were only three photos of his son but he was shown many more, most of which were of young girls, the father said. The father's name is not being used to protect his child's identity.

The father learned Monday from a sheriff's detective that the white substance was believed to be semen. He said the detective told him that Berndt sold some of the pictures online.
 ::snipping2::
The parent said that almost immediately after seeing the photos, he went to talk with Principal Martin Sandoval but was told five days in a row that Sandoval was unavailable.

It wasn't until the parent contacted the school district that Sandoval came to his home to talk about the investigation, he said.

The parent was not only outraged at what had happened but at the school's reluctance to talk with him and other parents about the investigation.

"At the very least, they should have reached out to ask us for forgiveness," he said. "Or just contacted us to give us information."

Martinez said he went to the school in unincorporated South L.A. on Tuesday to ask for counseling for his son, who becomes defensive when asked questions about the photos.

"He would just tell me that he was a good teacher," Martinez said. "He didn't see it as anything bad."

If the white substance in spoons and on cookies was in fact semen, and " Authorities are recommending the children be tested for sexually transmitted diseases". Link to article with quote: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/former-la-elementary-school-teacher-charged-photographing-molesting-23-kids/2012/01/31/gIQAnEd5eQ_story.html wouldn't time have been of the essence to have the children tested?!!  

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/teacher-arrested-lewd-parents-angry.html
Parents angry they weren’t told of teacher allegations sooner
January 31, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Kirklin was among those who argued that parents should have been notified earlier; school officials have said they took immediate steps to remove the teacher from the classroom and begin working with both law enforcement investigators and victims' families.
 ::snipping2::

Kimberly Kirklin, 32, has six children, including three daughters who are still students at Miramonte. She said she quizzed each of them immediately after learning of the arrest of former teacher Mark Berndt on the early morning television news Tuesday, and felt secure that they had never been subjected to any lewd activity.

Berndt, 61, was arrested Monday after a yearlong investigation and charged with committing lewd acts on 23 children. Authorities say at least 10 more children seen in photos seized by detectives have not been identified. Berndt is accused of blindfolding the children, tying them up and in some cases placing cockroaches on their faces and spoon-feeding them a white substances believed to be his semen.
 ::snipping2::
Heidy Morales, who had come to pick up her preschool-age son and also has a daughter in kindergarten at the school, said she hadn't heard anything about the accusations until Tuesday.

"This is my first time hearing of that," she said. "It's scary. I don't know what to say."

The school should have told parents about the teacher when they learned about the photos, she said.

"I would have taken my daughter away from this school."

Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy said the school district was notified of the allegations on Jan. 7, 2011, and Berndt was removed from the classroom the same day. He was terminated by the district at the next school board  meeting.
 ::snipping2::

These freaks need to  ::MonkeyHang:: ... PERIOD! There is no treatment, there is no 'cure'. It is not a Mental Illness. They are what they are and nothing can change that. NOTHING can change Sexual Preference.   ::MonkeyHang:: them in every State, period.

ITA Nut.  Its plain to see that there is no justice for the children when LE found 390 photos in his possession but he only has 23 charges.  He needs to be charged with each and every photo and if there are duplicates they should get him for intent to manufacture and distribute child pornography.  Why does our justice system continue to fail?  Don't lawyers, judges etc have children too?

I probably should have included this link about the 390 photos.  Sorry!
http://abcnews.go.com/US/teacher-arrested-bondage-photos-students/story?id=15480041

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/dna-key-in-case-against-la-teacher-accused-of-classroom-abuse.html
DNA key in case against L.A. teacher accused of classroom abuse
January 31, 2012

DNA evidence collected in the classroom of a teacher accused of gagging and blindfolding children and feeding them semen is considered central in the felony cases against him, a detective said.

Mark Berndt was charged Tuesday with 23 felony counts of lewd acts upon a child. The case began when photos of scenes in the classroom emerged. Berndt, 61, was fired as a teacher in March and was arrested Monday after a yearlong investigation.

Sgt. Dan Scott of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said the photos were perplexing because the children were smiling and appeared not to be in distress. Detectives went to his

They tested a substance on the spoon and found a DNA match with the teacher's semen, Scott said.

"We didn't have a felony until the semen was discovered," said Scott.

The photos showed students bound and blindfolded, some with large Madagascar cockroaches crawling on them, inside the school setting, Scott said. Scott said girls were allegedly photographed with a blue spoon holding a white substance near their mouths. Investigators said they believe that substance was Berndt's semen and that he had the girls consume it.
 ::snipping2::

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/teachers-alleged-classroom-abuse-began-in-2005-authorities-say.html
Teacher's alleged classroom abuse began in 2005, authorities say
January 31, 2012

A South Los Angeles teacher accused of gagging and blindfolding children and feeding them semen will face multiple felony charges in a court hearing Wednesday.

Authorities say the alleged crimes took place between 2005 and 2010, though detectives said they were still trying to determine how far back the alleged abuse occurred.

Mark Berndt is being held in lieu of $2.3-million bail after being arrested Monday. He was charged Tuesday with 23 felony counts of lewd acts upon a child.

He was in jail Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.
 ::snipping2::

This article goes on to say the surveillance on Mark Berndt wasn't 24 -7.  That must be how he was witnessed by a neighbor riding a tandem bicycle with a young girl about a month ago.  If that's true, he DID continue to have contact with children.   ::MonkeyNoNo::
Link to article about the neighbor witnessing him with girl: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/former-la-elementary-school-teacher-charged-photographing-molesting-23-kids/2012/01/31/gIQAnEd5eQ_story.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/former-la-elementary-school-teacher-charged-photographing-molesting-23-kids/2012/01/31/gIQAnEd5eQ_story.html?tid=pm_pop
Los Angeles elementary school teacher fired, charged with photographing and molesting 23 kids
January 31, 2012

 ::snipping2::
About 400 photos were found at Berndt’s home and at the photo lab during subsequent searches. It’s not clear how many different children were pictured. At least 10 youngsters in the photos have not yet been identified.

Some photos showed Berndt with his arm around children or his hand over their mouths. Some photos showed children with live bugs the size of hissing cockroaches on their mouths or faces.

Others depicted girls with what appears to be a spoon up to their mouths as if they were going to ingest a clear-white liquid. Children were fed Berndt’s semen from a spoon or on cookies, Marquez said.

Kids reported being fed something distasteful. A blue plastic spoon and container found in the trash in his classroom tested positive for his semen, authorities said.

Police recommended the children in the photos be tested for sexually transmitted diseases. There also may be more victims given the length of time that Berndt taught at the school, Marquez said.

Authorities could have arrested Berndt on misdemeanor charges when the investigation began but chose to build a stronger felony case, Marquez said. He could get a life sentence if he is convicted.

At first, neither the parents nor the children believed they had been molested, so there wasn’t much reaction, according to sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore. It was only after the matter of the semen was raised that they became alarmed.

Berndt, who has no previous arrest record, was placed under surveillance and is not believed to have had contact with children during the investigation. The childless bachelor lives a few blocks from two parks and an elementary school.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teacher-timeline-20120201,0,7850582.story
Timeline: An investigation unfolds
Here are some key dates in the investigation into suspected lewd conduct by a Los Angeles school teacher, based on allegations made by detectives, prosecutors and school officials.
February 1, 2012

Also...

Comments: (at time of posting 2)

This is so sad and disgusting . . . these poor children.
 ::MonkeyHang::

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/01/31/state/n081826S71.DTL&tsp=1
Ex-LA teacher due in court on molestation charges
By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press
February 1, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Mark Berndt faced arraignment Wednesday on charges that he committed lewd acts on 23 boys and girls, ages 6 to 10, between 2008 and 2010. He has hired a lawyer and has made no statements to authorities, said Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.
 ::snipping2::
The incidents occurred during school hours but not all the children were his students, Marquez said.

"The reason some of the kids are not his students, per se, is that during the lunch breaks or recess, he'd go out to the playground and entice them back to the classroom," Marquez said.

"They didn't know they were being violated in that manner," he said. "They just thought it was a game."

Berndt was a teaching assistant in the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1976 and 1977 and he began teaching at Miramonte in 1979, according to a district work history obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
 ::snipping2::

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/five-more-alleged-victims-accuse-la-teacher-of-abuse.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lanowblog+%28L.A.+Now%29
Five more alleged victims accuse L.A. teacher of abuse
February 1, 2012

Five more alleged victims have contacted sheriff's investigators since they announced the arrest of a longtime Miramonte Elementary School teacher accused of abusing children in his classroom, authorities said.

The children's allegations must all be verified to determine whether any additional charges can be filed against Mark Berndt, 61, who is expected in court Wednesday for arraignment on 23 counts of lewd acts against children, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.
 ::snipping2::

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/01/justice/california-teacher-bondage/?hpt=hp_t3
$23 million bond set for teacher accused of 'bondage' photos of kids
By Alan Duke, CNN
February 1, 2012

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Bond was set at $23 million Wednesday for a Los Angeles elementary school teacher who allegedly took bondage photos of more than two dozen students in his classroom -- $1 million for each of the 23 counts he faces of lewd acts on a child.

The 400 photographs collected by investigators include some showing suspected semen-filled spoons at the children's mouths, a sheriff's investigator said.

Mark Berndt, 61, appeared briefly before a Los Angeles judge for his initial court appearance Wednesday morning, represented by a court-appointed public defender.

His next court appearance was set for February 21.

Authorities arrested Berndt at his home Monday, and charged him with the 23 felony counts.
 ::snipping2::

Video at Link

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-01/teacher-classroom-molester-photos/52918298/1
Bail set at $23M in ex-teacher's molestation case
February 1, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Mark Berndt, 61, appeared in court for the first time after being charged with committing lewd acts involving 23 boys and girls, ages 6 to 10, between 2008 and 2010.

The tall and graying Berndt, represented by public defender Liz Braunstein, seemed calm in court as he spoke only to acknowledge his identity and birthdate and agreed to have his arraignment put over to Feb. 21.
He has made no statements to authorities, said sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Deputy District Attorney Ana Maria Lopez requested the increase in bail from the initial $2.3 million amount. District attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said the initial bail figure was an error because the presumptive bail is $1 million per count.
 ::snipping2::

Video at Link

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/la-teacher-suspected-of-lewd-conduct-keeps-benefits.html
L.A. teacher suspected of lewd conduct keeps benefits
February 1, 2012

A teacher charged with 23 counts of lewd conduct in his classroom successfully thwarted attempts by the Los Angeles Unified School District to fire him. In the process, the teacher, who is accused of spoon-feeding his sperm to blindfolded children, managed to retain lifetime health-benefits provided by the nation’s second-largest school system.

Former Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt also automatically receives nearly $4,000 a month in pension from the California State Teachers' Retirement System.
More...

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teacher-20120202,0,3301893.story?page=1
Questions swirl around teacher as more allegations arise
February 1, 2012

The Los Angeles Unified School District launched an internal investigation to determine how a teacher accused of bizarre acts of lewd conduct against the students in his classroom escaped suspicion for so long.

The investigation comes as detectives said Wednesday that several new potential victims have come forward and parents at Miramonte Elementary School demanded to know why the alleged crimes went undetected for five years.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jc_C9TCE2a283Xlok164FHYObQkw?docId=e77fc7917bcc4c6ea5fbc8068d966ad1
LA school officials chided for molest case silence
By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent
February 1, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Two former students of Berndt said school officials were informed about his odd behavior two decades ago.

Marlene Truhillo told the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/yo4M8P) in a story posted online Wednesday that school officials had looked into a complaint made against Berndt in the 1990-91 school year.

Trujillo said she was a fourth-grader in his class at the time and met with a school counselor with two other girls after one of them complained about his behavior.

She said Berndt often moved his hands under his desk, near his lap, at the front of the classroom. She and other students had seen a jar of Vaseline in one of his desk compartments.

Trujillo said the counselor "just told us it's not very good to make stories up. She said it was our imagination. It was never talked about again."

Trujillo's classmate at the time, Nadine Martinez Rodriguez, said she also noticed Berndt's behavior. Martinez said she told her mother about it at the time but that her mother didn't take it seriously enough to report to school officials, the Times reported.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2012/0202/Lesson-of-L.A.-teacher-sex-crime-case-Heed-children-who-report-abuse
Lesson of L.A. teacher sex-crime case: Heed children who report abuse
By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, Staff writer
February 2, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Mr. Berndt taught at Miramonte Elementary School in the Los Angeles Unified School District for more than 30 years. He was suspended and resigned in early 2011 when the county sheriff's department began investigating charges that led recently to his arrest on 23 counts of committing lewd acts on children.

Those charges date back to 2005. But the alleged troubling behavior may have started much earlier, authorities say.

In 1994, Berndt was investigated by the sheriff's department, but not prosecuted, for allegedly trying to fondle a 10-year-old girl, the Associated Press reported Thursday afternoon.

Two women also said this week that when they were students of Berndt’s in 1990-91, they told a counselor of behavior in the classroom that implied that he was fondling himself, the Los Angeles Times reports. One of the women said the counselor “told us it’s not very good to make stories up. She said it was our imagination.”

The school district is launching its own investigation into how Berndt’s alleged behavior could have gone on undetected for years. The case came to light when a photo developer called law enforcement officials in late 2010 about incriminating photos, the LA Times reports.
 ::snipping2::

n 2010, a report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) detailed cases of abusive educators moving from state to state and committing new offenses – even sometimes after being convicted of sexual abuse. State laws requiring background checks or reporting of sexual misconduct in schools vary widely.

There have been some small signs of progress. A 2011 law in Missouri may be the first to really try to stop the phenomenon. Known as the Amy Hester Student Protection Act, it “requires school districts to report substantiated allegations of sexual misconduct by educators to another school district that seeks a reference for that educator,” according to Courthouse News Service.
On the federal level, no laws regulate the employment of sex offenders in schools, the GAO noted.
 ::snipping2::

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/teacher-mark-berndt-records.html
LAUSD finds no records of complaints against teacher Mark Berndt
February 2, 2012

Despite emerging reports of past suspicion of misconduct, Los Angeles school district officials have found no record of complaints against former teacher Mark Berndt, who is accused of bizarre acts of lewd conduct against students in his classroom.

The lack of documentation is not unusual because of when the incidents occurred, the law on reporting potential molestation and standard employee safeguards against potentially false accusations, said David Holmquist, general counsel for the Los Angeles Unified School District.
 ::snipping2::
Los Angeles Unified School District officials learned Wednesday of suspected past misconduct from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and L.A. Times interviews with two former students from Miramonte Elementary, where Berndt, 61, worked for more than 30 years.

One former student said she was among those interviewed after Berndt was accused by one or more students of masturbating behind his desk during the 1990-91 school year. A school counselor eventually “just told us it’s not very good to make stories up,” said Marlene Trujillo. “She said it was our imagination. It was never talked about again.”
 ::snipping2::

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/past-claims-raise-further-questions-about-la-teacher-charged-with-committing-lewd-acts-on-kids/2012/02/03/gIQA3WjLmQ_story.html
Official: 2nd teacher removed from Los Angeles elementary school is arrested
February 3, 2012

LOS ANGELES — A second teacher pulled from a classroom at Miramonte Elementary School this week was arrested Friday, just days after a third-grade teacher was charged with lewd acts involving photographing nearly two dozen children for sexual thrills, authorities said.
 ::snipping2::

The second teacher, who has not been identified, was removed after accusations of inappropriate touching of students surfaced on Thursday, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy said.

“We are prepared to fire him next week and we’ll do that at the next board meeting for inappropriate conduct and inappropriately touching students,” the superintendent told KTTV.
 ::snipping2::

Child-abuse investigators were informed by the district late Thursday night, sheriff’s Lt. Carlos Marquez said, declining to provide details.
 ::snipping2::

Mark Berndt "just not that kind of person"?  Photos and DNA say otherwise.   ::MonkeyNoNo::

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57371130/second-teacher-in-la-school-abuse-case-arrested/
Second teacher in LA school abuse case arrested
February 3, 2012

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department says a second teacher removed from a south Los Angeles elementary school this week has been arrested.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore says the teacher was arrested Friday on suspicion of "inappropriate behavior," but he's not releasing any immediate details on the reason. Officials have planned an early afternoon news conference to discuss the case.

The arrest comes just days after another Miramonte Elementary School teacher was charged with photographing children for sexual thrills. The number of molestation complaints to the district has increased since the first teacher was charged this week with photographing children for sexual thrills, authorities said.
Earlier today, the second teacher was pulled from a classroom at the school.

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy confirmed earlier that a teacher was removed from classes yesterday morning after he received information about "possible inappropriate behavior."

"As a result, this teacher was immediately removed from the classroom. He will remain off campus pending an investigation by the Los Angeles County's Sheriff's Department," Deasy said, adding that the teacher's name is being withheld at the request of the Sheriff's Department.

He declined to provide details on the second educator.

"We have some information and we are currently investigating that but the teacher has not been arrested or charged with any crime," said Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Carlos Marquez.

Child-abuse investigators were informed by the district late Thursday night, he said, declining to provide details.
 ::snipping2::
Deasy wouldn't discuss details of the allegations against the second teacher or whether it was sexual.

"This just came to our attention yesterday," Deasy said Friday. "The information was new. It's not, like, something we dug up."

He also said that the teacher was removed from class "out of an abundance of caution" rather than because of any physical evidence.

"This would be what I would call a normal course of action."
 ::snipping2::
Angelica Zuniga, a 16-year-old high school junior, was in third grade in 2003 when she had Berndt as a teacher. She said he never asked her or others to do anything strange or to play any inappropriate games.

"They're calling him 'monster.' He's just not that kind of person," Angelica said. "He was one of the most amazing teachers out there. He's dedicated his life to us, and I want to stick up for him."

The latest investigation of Berndt began last fall when a film processor became suspicious about the photographs and turned them over to Redondo Beach police, who on Dec. 2 handed them over to the sheriff's department, Scott said.

Berndt, who taught at Miramonte for more than 30 years ago, was removed from classwork in January and fired within the month.

The case also prompted Deasy to fire a high school teacher who is being sued over allegations he had sex with students. The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that Vance Miller, 59, was pulled from his Hamilton High School classroom in 2010, before Deasy became superintendent.

A police investigation didn't result in criminal charges. But two former students, now adults, said the music teacher had sex with them while they were students at Hamilton. Deasy reviewed the case this week and decided there was enough information to fire Miller, who has been paid since his removal.

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/west/view/20120203official_2nd_teacher_from_la_school_arrested/srvc=home&position=recent
Official: 2nd teacher from LA school arrested
February 3, 2012

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County authorities say a second teacher removed from an elementary school was arrested for investigation of lewd acts upon two girls who were approximately 7 years old.

Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Parker says 49-year-old Martin Springer was arrested Friday, less than a week after a 30-year teacher at Miramonte Elementary School was charged with lewd acts involving 23 children.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/California-Mandatory-Reporting-Act-Mark-Berndt-Film-Processors-138666714.html
Decades-Old Law, Even Older Technology Led to Mark Berndt Arrest
February 3, 2012

I've opened a separate thread for the arrest of the 2nd Miramonte Elementary teacher Martin Springer. It doesn't appear at this time there is a connection between the two cases.

Martin Springer-2nd LA Elem. Teacher Arrested-Lewd Acts Against Pupils
http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=12706.msg1506890#msg1506890

http://www.the-signal.com/section/36/article/59344/
This just in from Assemblyman Cameron Smyth's office
SMYTH TO INTRODUCE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT BANNING PENSIONS FOR FELONS
February 3, 2012

SACRAMENTO - Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita, announced today that he will be introducing a constitutional amendment that will prohibit convicted felons from receiving their pension benefits. The legislation stems from recent articles about Mark Berndt, a teacher in Los Angeles who faces 23 counts of lewd conduct with students in his elementary school classroom. Because Berndt resigned before district officials could fire him, he retains lifetime health benefits, along with a monthly pension of nearly $4,000.
 ::snipping2::
Smyth's Assembly Constitutional Amendment, which has not yet received a number, would bar any public employee from receiving their pension if they are convicted of any specified felony. The ban would cover employees who participate in the CalPERS system, as well as teachers like Berndt, who participate in CalSTRS. Because it is a constitutional amendment, rather than a bill, it must be approved by two-thirds of the legislature and voters.

"While a constitutional amendment requires more votes to pass," said Smyth, "that means it would also take a two-thirds vote to undo the changes we want to make. Good legislation is often passed, only to be overturned by a simple majority the following year. I don't want to see that happen with an important issue like this one."

Smyth expects to have full language of the Assembly Constitutional Amendment for introduction later this month.
 ::snipping2::

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/girl-says-she-was-victim-of-both-accused-teachers-at-la-school.html
Girl says she was victim of both accused teachers at L.A. school
February 4, 2012

In 2008, a second-grader at Miramonte Elementary School reportedly came home from school and showed her parents two photos she said were taken by her teacher, Mark Berndt.

One photo shows her with two other girls, standing against a wall. The second shows her biting down on a small cookie. A shiny, light-colored substance is faintly visible on top of the cookie.

The parents said they found the photos strange and went to Miramonte's principal at the time to complain. They say the principal looked at the photos but dismissed their concerns, suggesting the photos might be part of a class project.
The girl was later transferred to the classroom of Martin Bernard Springer. There, the father said, his daughter said Springer touched her on the leg and thigh.
 ::snipping2::
Law enforcement sources said Saturday that detectives believe the one girl was a victim of both Berndt and Springer. Detective have been investigating her accusations against the two teachers.

The detectives have seen records confirming that the girl was transferred from Berndt’s class to Springer's class, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing.

The accusations by the second-grader's parents raise more questions about how much officials knew about Berndt's behavior. Two former students of Berndt, who are now adults, said in interviews with The Times that they thought they saw the teacher masturbating behind his desk in the 1990-91 school year. A counselor at the school told a group of students at the time not to make up stories, one of them said.
More...

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/02/05/sources-girl-was-victim-both-california-teachers-arrested-for-lewd-acts/
Sources: Girl was victim of both California teachers arrested for lewd acts
February 5, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Berndt was nabbed this week after a year-long investigation that began when a film processor discovered more than 40 photographs depicting children inside a school classroom with their eyes blindfolded and their mouths taped shut. Film processors are mandated by California law to report photographs of suspected child abuse.

Authorities said that the 23 identified victims include 21 girls and two boys, who were between the ages of seven and 10 at the time of the alleged crimes.

At least seven additional potential victims have come forward to investigators since police announced Berndt's arrest Tuesday.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/miramonte-school-closed.html
L.A. school to be closed for two days for sex-abuse investigation
February 6, 2012

Miramonte Elementary School, where two teachers have been arrested for alleged lewd activity with students, will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday as sheriff's detectives and district officials continue their investigation into the allegations.
 ::snipping2::
Meantime, the Los Angeles Unified School District will hold a meeting for parents at 6 p.m. Monday at the newly opened South Region High School #2 at 6100 S. Central Ave.

Parents gathered at the school Monday morning to protest the district's handling of the incident. Several parents and former students have come forward to say their complaints either were not taken seriously or not fully investigated.

On Saturday, investigators revealed that a student was allegedly a victim of lewd conduct by both teachers. The teachers knew each but there is no indication that they conspired together.
 ::snipping2::

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/entire-miramonte-elementary-staff-to-be-replaced.html?track=icymi
Schools chief announces entire Miramonte staff to be replaced
February 6, 2012

(http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef016300e39225970d-640wi)

Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy told parents Monday evening that the district is replacing the entire staff of Miramonte Elementary School in the wake of the arrests last week of two teachers on lewd conduct charges.

The unprecedented move is intended to build confidence among the many families who have lost faith in their neighborhood elementary school. More than a quarter of students did not show up for classes Monday.

Officials stressed that no one else on the Miramonte staff is under suspicion of wrongdoing but that the chain of events has placed a cloud over the campus that can be lifted only with a drastic response.
 ::snipping2::
The displacement could be temporary: Many, maybe all, of the current staff will be returned to the school eventually, officials said. In the interim, their places will be filled by qualified teachers and other workers already on a placement or rehiring list. There are plenty of available candidates: Over the last several years, thousands of instructors and other non-teaching staff were laid off because of budget cuts; the vast majority are considered fully qualified employees who lost work simply because they lacked sufficient seniority.

The displaced staff will continue to be paid and also will receive counseling for a series of events that also traumatized the Miramonte staff, officials said.
More...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/accused-teacher-gave-alleged-victim-presents-pictures.html
Accused teacher gave alleged victim presents, pictures
February 6, 2012

Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt gave presents to one of his alleged victims, visited her home and even gave the children photos of them blindfolded and gagged – the same type of pictures that eventually led to his arrest, attorneys for an alleged victim said.

Attorneys for the girl, who is now 9, filed a $15-million claim against the Los Angeles Unified School District on Monday alleging negligence and violations of the girl's civil rights because the district ignored reports in 1991, 1994 and 2008 about Berndt's conduct. Berndt was arrested last week and charged with 23 counts of lewd conduct.

Attorney Ricardo Antonio Perez said the teacher spoon-fed the girl a white liquid substance authorities now believe to be semen. He said the teacher also fed the girl, who was 8 at the time, semen-laced cookies as part of an unsuspecting game between September and December 2010.
 ::snipping2::
perez said the teacher visited the girl when school was out of session.

"He gave her bags of candy and something with an inscription that we don't want to reveal at this moment," Perez said.

"This teacher groomed his students to be victims. … He came to this girl's home in the holidays and gave her gifts," said Gordon Phillips, who is also representing the girl and her family. "That's something no teacher should be doing."

The district's failed oversight allowed the girl to become of the 23 alleged victims named in charges filed by the district attorney's office, said Phillips and Perez, who have sued L.A. Unified in the past.

Perez said he knows of previous complaints against Berndt in 1991 and 1994 "and still he was at the school," Perez said. "There was complete failure of the system."

He alleged that Berndt committed all these acts in plain sight. At the end of the year, he even "pinned the photos to a cork board" for the kids to take home, Perez said. "It was like he was daring someone to catch them," he said.

 ::snipping2::

http://ktar.com/509/1495372/Staff-removed-at-LA-school-during-abuse-probe
Staff removed at LA school during abuse probe
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON
September 7, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy said Monday night that more than 120 staff members at Miramonte Elementary School- everyone from the principal and teachers to the cafeteria workers- were being replaced because a full investigation of the allegations will be disruptive and staffers will require support to get through the scandal.

"We intend to interview every adult, every adult who works at that school, whether they are a teacher or administrator, or whether they are an after-school playground worker or a custodian or a secretary. I mean every single solitary adult who works at Miramonte," Deasy said to parents who packed a high school gymnasium.

An entire staff has been selected to come into Miramonte's classrooms to take over teaching for the time being, and there will be a psychiatric social worker in every classroom to help students and staff cope with any issues.

The teachers and support staff will remain officially attached to Miramonte even though they are indefinitely being transferred, district spokeswoman Monica Carazo said Tuesday.

"He (Deasy) will decide if and when to return them back to the Miramonte school. So nothing is definite at this time," she said.

Deasy said the employees, which include nearly 90 teachers, will remain out of the school at least until August, when Miramonte changes from a year-round system to a regular summer-vacation schedule. When classes resume, there will be fewer teachers and fewer students because some will be transferred to new schools that are opening.

Deasy announced Monday that an investigation of the allegations will include interviewing former as well as current Miramonte students. The probe will be handled by an independent commission led by retired California Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Moreno.

All employees will be paid during the investigation, district spokesman Tom Waldman said. Officials didn't know how long the investigation would take.
 ::snipping2::

 ::MonkeyEek:: 

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-miramonte-20120208,0,485100.story
Miramonte aide's love letters to pupil investigated
The student's mother says school officials and sheriff's deputies ignored her complaints at first. L.A. Unified officials say they are having trouble finding any record of the employee, saying she no longer works for the district.
By Dalina Castellanos and Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times
February 8, 2011

In June 2009, the mother of a fourth-grader made a discovery that is now the latest incident under investigation at Miramonte Elementary School: a teacher's aide was allegedly writing love letters to her 11-year-old son.

One letter, meant as a short-term farewell note, included a passage that the mother found especially disturbing: "When I was writing this letter, I was crying. My heart was breaking into pieces," wrote the teacher's aide, who has been identified as Areceli Luisjuan. "Oh! I didn't tell you that I like when you put your arm around my shoulder, and if I told you not to do that it's because I don't want to put you in trouble, but I like it…"

The episode has become the subject of a law enforcement inquiry and an internal review by the Los Angeles Unified School District. According to the mother, however, sheriff's deputies and the school system failed to take her seriously the first time she brought the matter to their attention.
 ::snipping2::
The love letter was first detailed in a July 2009 article in Hoy, a Spanish-language publication that is part of the same publishing group as The Times. In interviews with The Times this week, the mother recounted her experience in Spanish.

Efforts to reach Luisjuan were unsuccessful.

"When you get close to me, even if you give me the chills I like that," continued the letter, which is written in English. "Don't tell nobody about this!" (The word "chills" is underlined.)

At the bottom, the writer penned the student's name four times, signed it "Sad Girl" and then added: "Read the letter and throw it away. I don't want your mom or brother to find it."

The mother, whose name is not being released to protect the identity of her son, a minor, said she believes there were about three letters, although she only had one to show to a reporter. The first item she found, in 2009, was a drawing of a crying woman that also was labeled "sad girl."

She noticed the drawing when it happened to tumble from its perch in her son's room. The fall also dislodged a cellphone number from a corner of the frame. When she confronted her son, he showed her two letters.

The crying picture, she later learned, was prompted by Luisjuan's pending relocation to a nearby middle school. The transfer apparently was planned before the mother complained, she said.

The mother, who said the aide appeared to be in her 50s, immediately went to see her son's teacher. But the teacher told the mother that she could get into trouble for making up stories.
 ::snipping2::
When the mother abuses her kid and they find out at school they throw all the authorities at you," she said Tuesday. "But what happens when it's the other way around? I couldn't do anything."

She did not produce the letters at the time of her first complaint.

She said she next went to the Sheriff's Department, which directed her to return to the school to handle the matter.

At a second meeting, those present included the mother, her son, the teacher, Luisjuan and an assistant principal.

According to the mother, Luisjuan admitted writing letters and drawing the picture. Luisjuan compared her affection to that of a grandmother for a grandson, the mother said. The mother was sent home, but not before she insisted on a written record of the meeting, which she kept.

"Why would they pay attention to me?" the mother said. "I'm a single mother and Mexican."

The aide delivered the final letter, the one quoted above, on the same day as the meeting, June 23, 2009. She also allegedly gave the boy a gift: a crystal, heart-shaped bowl full of candy.

When asked about the incident by Hoy, L.A. Unified spokeswoman Gayle Pollard-Terry said that "as of today" Luisjuan no longer works for the school system.

This week, district officials had trouble finding a record of either the employee or what had happened. It was being researched, spokesman Thomas Waldman said.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/la-school-scandal-2nd-teacher-charged-fired-board/story?id=15536279
LA School Scandal: 2nd Teacher Charged, Fired by Board
By KEVIN DOLAK and COLLEEN CURRY
February 8, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Martin Springer was charged Tuesday with committing three counts of committing lewd acts on one girl, according to the Los Angeles Times, which reported that a law enforcement officer said that a second girl recanted her accusation against the teacher.

Bail for Springer was reportedly set at $300,000, while the judge said that the 49-year-old will be forced to wear an ankle monitoring device if released.

Tom Waldman, spokesman for the Los Angeles Unified School District told The Associated Press that the board voted unanimously to terminate Springer. He has 30 days to appeal the decision.
 ::snipping2::
The district has now contacted former teachers and staff members who had been laid off during budget cuts to come back and temporarily teach at the school.

The school district is checking fingerprints, backgrounds and personnel files of those individuals who are interested in coming back to temporarily teach at Miramonte to ensure that they have no record of inappropriate behavior with children, Ramos said.

The school is expected to reopen to students on Thursday.

The current Miramonte staff will go to a non-operational school facility and undergo interviews with administrators and investigators.

Lawyer Brian Claypool told ABC News that he has identified a female teacher who would allegedly bring little girls to Berndt to be victimized.

"I reported to the L.A. County Sheriff's Special Victims Unit a new teacher who I believe patently aided and abetted the abuse Berndt was carrying out," Claypool told ABCNews.com.

Claypool said his accusation has come from conversations with at least three students or former students who said the other female teacher had a role in the alleged crimes.
 ::snipping2::
The troubled elementary school in Los Angeles' Huntington Park neighborhood has already seen allegations of child sexual assault in the past decade.

Teacher's aide Ricardo Guevara is currently serving out a 15-year sentence after he was found guilty of fondling three kindergarten girls in 2003 while working at the school, according to ABC News affiliate KABC.

Los Angeles Unified School District was ordered in 2008 to pay Guevara's victims a $1.6 million settlement.

Attorney Keith Davidson, who is representing one of the alleged victims of Berndt, also worked on the case against Guevara.
 ::snipping2::
Video at Link

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/08/justice/california-school-case/index.html
Los Angeles authorities find 200 more photos in teacher case
By Michael Martinez, CNN
February 8, 2012

Florence, California (CNN) -- Los Angeles County investigators have found 200 more photos allegedly taken by a former public elementary school teacher now facing 23 felony counts of lewd acts with pupils, a sheriff's spokesman said Wednesday.

Authorities have been able to identify pupils in 175 of the 200 photographs and they are trying to identify those in the remaining 25, said Sgt. Dan Scott of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Authorities declined to provide further details.

Authorities now have a total of 600 photographs allegedly taken by former teacher Mark Berndt, 61, of Miramonte Elementary School, who was arrested last week and accused of taking bondage photos of more than two dozen students in his classroom, including some with suspected semen-filled spoons at their mouths.

The school board fired Berndt a year ago; Berndt appealed but he dropped the appeal and resigned last spring, Waldman said.

Berndt is now being held in lieu of $23 million bail, authorities said. ::snipping2::

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/sheriff-no-arrests-miramonte.html
No further arrests planned of Miramonte teachers, sheriff says
February 8, 2012

Los Angeles County sheriff's officials on Wednesday said they have no plans to make more arrests in the cases of two Miramonte Elementary School teachers accused of committing lewd acts on children.

Sgt. Dan Scott said the investigation was continuing but that no other teachers are under suspicion at this time. An attorney representing the family of one of the alleged child victims has suggested that a third teacher might be involved in the case.

But Scott said that teacher is not a suspect. Detectives have interviewed that teacher and said they have no plans to arrest her.
 ::snipping2::
The news comes as authorities discovered 200 new photos allegedly taken by one of the teachers arrested last week.

The new photos were recovered late last week from a South Bay CVS pharmacy after a search of the drugstore's computer systems for photos from former teacher Mark Berndt.

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 them eating from a spoon or with a cockroach on them. 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.”
 ::snipping2::

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-02-08/la-miramonte-school-sexual-abuse/53011322/1?csp=34news
New staff arrives at embattled Miramonte school in L.A.
By Marisol Bello and William M. Welch, USA TODAY
February 2, 2012

LOS ANGELES – Two days after school officials announced they were removing all the faculty and staff at a school where two teachers were arrested for allegedly abusing students, new teachers assembled Wednesday for orientation.
The new staff began arriving at 8 a.m. at Miramonte Elementary School along with about a half-dozen parents and students who stood outside the school gates.

Parents are upset about the arrests of teachers Mark Berndt and Martin Springer. They're also angry at the Los Angeles Unified School District's reaction to replace all the teachers. They plan to hold a rally at 5 p.m. in front of the school to protest the staff changes.
 ::snipping2::
Video at Link

What a horrible mess . . . there are good teachers out there . . . it is trying to separate the good from the evil that is so very difficult.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-02-09/miramonte-school-sex-abuse-case/53034154/1
Abusers used school in impoverished area as stalking grounds
By William M. Welch and Marisol Bello, USA TODAY
February 9, 2012

Video at Link

http://newsok.com/report-teacher-in-la-molest-case-paid-to-resign/article/feed/346533
Report: Teacher in LA molest case paid to resign
February 10, 2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The former third-grade teacher who has been charged with committing lewd acts on students was paid $40,000 to drop an appeal of his firing, a newspaper reported Friday.

The Los Angeles Unified School District settled with Mark Berndt because it couldn't defend his February 2011 firing, district general counsel David Holmquist told the Los Angeles Times.

Berndt was removed from the classroom in January 2011 and dismissed as the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was investigating him. He appealed but resigned in June after the district agreed to pay him four months of back salary and reimburse his health benefit costs.

"We were told we could not do any investigation" to avoid interfering with the criminal probe, Holmquist said. "We didn't have any evidence and we couldn't put on any witnesses. We didn't have anything to successfully defend a challenge."

The 61-year-old recently was charged with 23 counts of lewd acts upon children, ages 6 to 10, accused of feeding his semen to some students during "tasting games" in his classroom from 2005 to 2010.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2098811/Shocking-photo-Mark-Berndt-posing-tights-Mickey-Mouse-ears.html
By Mark Duell
February 10, 2012


These shocking new pictures show the teacher and his letters to pupils at the centre of a disturbing alleged sex scandal that has led to the closure and reopening of a Los Angeles elementary school.

The photos show Mark Berndt, 61, a Miramonte Elementary School teacher accused of feeding his students spoonfuls of his semen and semen-laced cookies, dressed in black leggings and shorts.

In one he is wearing Mickey Mouse ears and has his arm around a female student. Berndt appears to be eating a cookie of some sort, but it's unclear whether it was one of his own 'special' concoctions.
 ::snipping2::
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/10/article-2098811-11A9A600000005DC-350_634x1012.jpg)
New images: Mark Berndt, seen here dressed in tights as Mickey Mouse, allegedly fed semen-laced cookies to students at Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles, California

More...
Additional Photos at Link

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501363_162-57375378/students-teachers-adjust-as-la-school-reopens/
Teacher in LA molest case paid to resign
February 11, 2012

(AP)  LOS ANGELES — The decision to pay $40,000 to a former third-grade teacher who has been charged with committing lewd acts on students was the most immediate way to guarantee he would not be a threat to any other student, school officials said Friday.

Mark Berndt was offered the settlement — the equivalent of approximately five months of salary and other related expenses — to drop an appeal of his firing last year, the Los Angeles Unified School District said in a statement.

Berndt was removed from the classroom in January 2011 and dismissed as the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was investigating him. He appealed but resigned in June after the settlement was reached.

 ::snipping2::
Berndt, 61, recently was charged with 23 counts of lewd acts upon children, ages 6 to 10, accused of feeding his semen to some students during "tasting games" in his classroom from 2005 to 2010.
 ::snipping2::

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/02/15/alleged-victims-of-lausd-teacher-to-appear-on-dr-phil/
Alleged Victims Of LAUSD Teacher To Appear On ‘Dr. Phil’
February 15, 2012

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Alleged victims of former LAUSD teacher Mark Berndt are appearing on the Dr. Phil show Thursday, Feb. 16.

Two pre-teen girls who were enrolled at the embattled Miramonte Elementary School say Berndt, who taught at the school for more than 30 years, would take them out of their classes to have him perform tasks in his classroom.

They claim he would blindfold them and feed them cookies topped with a slimy substance — which investigators say was his semen – after they were ordered to pass out papers or sharpen pencils.

One of the girls’ mothers tells Dr. Phil she feels “like I’m undone. Psychologically, I’m destroyed because of everything she told me.”
 ::snipping2::
Video at Link

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/la-school-district-failed-to-promptly-notify-state-of-teachers-dismissal-in-lewd-acts-probe/2012/02/17/gIQANZ79JR_story.htm
LA school district failed to promptly notify state of teacher’s dismissal in lewd acts probe
February 17, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/education/abuse-cases-put-los-angeles-schools-under-fire.html
Abuse Cases Put Los Angeles Schools Under Fire
By Jennifer Medina
February 16, 2012

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-18/LA-teacher-probe/53145078/1
Civil cases could hamper L.A. teacher molestation probe
February 18, 2012

BS,your going to tell me none of those other teachers/staff,didnt think something
weird,dress up,send me a student,ect,no talk in the T restrooms,lounge,BS everyone
should be suspended until the investigation is over,the guy was a teacher for 30yr
someone saw,knows something

ps TY for the updates MB

I think this is the very reason all teachers were moved from the Miramonte location to another pending investigation. 

YW CW.  ::bee::  I've taken a special interest in how our children are being abused by adults in trusted positions and how they are enabled by their peers and even their supervisors.   I'm finding there is so much of it I could make a new thread daily. I think some of it has been going on a long, long time with some of these pervs.  And if they are challenged or someone brings it forward, the victims or their parents are brushed off and/or it's hidden.  Sometimes the victim is ostracized and accused of lying.    I wouldn't want a teacher or coach falsely accused, but it seems the way things are right now, it can be very difficult for a victim to prove.  I can understand the concern for false accusations and a teachers reputation, but what about the children? 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/authorities-fear-comments-may-hurt-miramonte-teacher-abuse-case.html
Authorities fear comments may hurt Miramonte teacher abuse case
February 19, 2012

As authorities press a lewd acts case against a teacher at Miramonte Elementary School, a growing number of alleged victims have hired attorneys to pursue civil lawsuits against the Los Angeles Unified School District.

And there are questions about whether the civil litigation could hurt the criminal case.

Officials from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said they are concerned that teacher Mark Berndt's defense could use public statements made by alleged victims and their attorneys to raise inconsistencies and to suggest that they have a financial motive for accusing the teacher.

"The lawyers are making it that much more difficult," said William McSweeney, chief of detectives for the Sheriff's Department. "It is going to raise issues of credibility."
 ::snipping2::
The attorneys are making accusations about Berndt that are not contained in the original charges, including some claims — repeated last week when two alleged victims went on the  "Dr. Phil" show — that Berndt fed them cookies with semen on them.
 ::snipping2::
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 that the teacher was not a suspect in the case.
 ::snipping2::
"You just sit there and cringe your teeth as a D.A.," said Robin Sax, a former Los Angeles County sex crimes prosecutor who is a legal analyst for Fox 11 News. The prosecutors "are watching a case unfold on television and they're stuck with whatever is said in public."

http://www.scpr.org/blogs/news/2012/02/20/4743/mark-berndt-scheduled-be-arraigned-tuesday/
Mark Berndt scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday
February 20, 2012

An arraignment is scheduled for Mark Berndt, the former Miramonte Elementary School teacher arrested for multiple counts of lewd acts with children, on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. Berndt, who taught at the school for 30 years, has been accused by police of taking photos of blindfolded and gagged students with roaches on their faces or spoons of semen held to their mouths.
 ::snipping2::

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/20/justice/california-school-case/index.html
Cal. teacher accused of staging 'bondage' photos of his students to be arraigned
February 21, 2012

CNN) -- A former southern California schoolteacher is set to be arraigned Tuesday amid 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.

Authorities have said they have discovered roughly 600 images taken by Mark Berndt, 61, in his classroom.

Dismissed by the Los Angeles Unified School District school board about a year ago, Berndt was arrested January 30. He appeared in court two days later, after which he was ordered held on $23 million bail -- $1 million for each of the 23 counts of lewd acts on a child that he faces.

All of those initial 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.

Berndt has not yet entered a plea.
 ::snipping2::

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/21/10465939-where-do-problem-teachers-go-las-rubber-room
Where do problem teachers go? LA's 'rubber room'
By Conan Nolan and Frava Burgess, NBCLosAngeles.com
February 21, 2012

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/miramonte-teacher-pleads-not-guilty-to-lewd-acts-with-students.html
Ex-Miramonte teacher pleads not guilty to lewd acts with students
February 21, 2012

Former Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt pleaded not guilty Tuesday to nearly two dozen counts of committing lewd acts with his students.
 ::snipping2::
In court Tuesday, Berndt was dressed in an orange jumpsuit and appeared unshaven. His public defender, Victor Acevedo, said guards at the jail had been denying his client's request for razors.
 ::snipping2::
Berndt is being held in lieu of $23-million bail, although the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said there would be a bail review.

Berndt is set to return to court March 28.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/mark-berndt-miramonte-allegedly-harassed-by-sheriffs-department.html
Officials deny ex-Miramonte teacher harassed by L.A. deputies
February 21, 2012

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Commission-Revoked-87-California-Teachers-for-Alleged-Child-Crimes-140376823.html
Little-Known Commission Revokes California Teachers for Reported Alleged Child Crimes
Revocations Pre-date Miramonte Scandal
By Patrick Healy
February 25, 2012


 ::snipping2::
Authorities have seen a surge in complaints in recent weeks since a longtime teacher at Miramonte Elementary School, Mark Berndt, was arrested and charged with 23 counts of lewd conduct.
Former substitute teacher Jorge Hernandez was investigated for suspected crimes at three schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. After a third case in 2007, he was compelled to leave.

However, this was not reported to the Credentialing Commission, and Hernandez found work with the Inglewood school district.

The commission is empowered to suspend or revoke the credentials of teachers once they are suspected of a crime or other serious misconduct, and removed from the classroom.

Whether notification was made within the required 30 days of change in employment status has come into question in two of the high profile cases coming to light in the glare of the Miramonte uproar.

While teaching third grade at Inglewood's Beulah Payne Elementary School in 2008, Hernandez allegedly molested an 8-year-old girl, according to Sanford Jossen, the attorney who has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the girl and her mother.

"How many times does one have to hear someone yell, 'fire,’'' Jossen said.

Hernandez was arrested in 2010 after he drove to another school, Gage Elementary in Huntington Park, and allegedly exposed himself to children outside.

During a post-arrest search of his home, authorities found videos they characterized as child pornography. Jossen's suit states that one of the videos depicts the molestation of the girl at Payne Elementary.

Hernandez jumped bail prior to a 2010 hearing, and is believed to have fled to Jalisco, Mexico, to escape prosecution.

In the Berndt case, after he was removed from his classroom at the beginning of 2011, a year elapsed before LAUSD reported this to the Credentialing Commission.

Supt. John Deasy acknowledged the error and said his district would renew efforts to comply with the reporting requirements.

The Commission revoked the credentials of 267 teachers during the 2010-11 school year, only one more than the previous year, and suspended 243 – an increase of 36.

The Credentialing Commission's awareness of cases relies on reports from outside agencies, including law enforcement and school districts.
Video at Link

http://www.scpr.org/blogs/education/2012/02/22/4788/l-unified-review-files-teacher-misconduct-over-las/
LA Unified to review files on teacher misconduct over last 3 years and report to state agency
By Tami Abdollah
February 22, 2012

L.A. Unified will go back and report (or re-report) every case of a teacher accused of misconduct over the last three years to the state credentialing commission as part of an internal investigation into its failure to provide a timely report on former Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt, who is accused of spoon-feeding his semen to children.

"I ordered my staff to re-file every single report over the last three academic years and of course the year that I'm in now, just as an abundance of caution, to make sure that no particular case slipped through the cracks and to be quite clear that every case was sent to the commission on teacher credentialing," Superintendent John Deasy told KPCC on air today during his regular monthly radio talk.
 ::snipping2::
Deasy said Friday he was launching an internal investigation to look into the untimely notifications or lack of notifications to the commission. "I know they're [the Human Resources Department is] combing through email and checking with the commission itself," said district spokesman Thomas Waldman.

Earlier today, the Los Angeles Times reported that a substitute teacher for the district was investigated by police thrice for sexual misconduct with students. According to the story, the district never reported the accusations to the credentialing commission and the teacher was hired to work as a substitute at another school.

Deasy told KPCC today that this case took place years ago, before Deasy became the district's superintendent, and that the reporting mechanisms at the time were not what they are today.
 ::snipping2::

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/la-teachers-contracts-delay-abuse-investigations.html
L.A. teachers' contracts hinder abuse investigations
February 29, 2012

Efforts by the L.A. Unified School District to identify teachers suspected of misconduct has been complicated by a little-known clause in the teachers' contracts that limits how long allegations can remain in a teacher's file.

Under the contract, alleged misconduct that does not result in discipline is removed from personnel files after four years. The provision dates to the early 1990s when the L.A. Unified School District agreed to it in exchange for teachers taking a 10% pay cut.

The policy has limited L.A. Unified's ability to deal with misconduct allegations against teachers and weed out potential problem instructors. The most explosive allegations involved former Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt, who has pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of lewd conduct for allegedly photographing students blindfolded, gagged and being spoon-fed his semen.

Several earlier investigations and complaints about his conduct — none of which ever resulted in criminal charges or discipline — were not in his record.
The contract states that after four years, "pre-disciplinary" documents filed about teachers are either destroyed or placed in an "expired file" at the campus.

These can include an unproven allegation of serious misconduct, a warning or reprimand, a principal's private notes about a potential problem or a memo that resulted from a meeting with a teacher over an issue.
More...

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-lausd-teacher-contracts-misconduct,0,6263296.story
LAUSD Teacher Contracts Limit Investigations of Misconduct
February 29, 2012

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- The Los Angeles Unified School District's efforts to investigate teacher misconduct have been complicated by a little-known clause in teachers' contracts.

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, there is a clause in LAUSD teacher contracts that limits how long allegations remain in a teacher's file.

Under the clause, alleged misconduct that does not result in discipline -- no matter how serious -- is removed from personnel files after four years.


Teachers cannot be subject to punishment based on an "expired" file.

The provision dates to the early 1990s, the Times reports. The district agreed to it in exchange for teacher taking a 10 percent pay cut.

Administrators can use an incident in an expired file to assess whether a teacher should receive harsher punishment for a later transgression.

But, the Times reports, much of the documentation has not survived.

The teachers' contract does not specify what should happen to expired files over time.

They are typically destroyed or kept at the campus, even when a teacher moves to another school.

The clause has made it difficult to investigate allegations against teachers and weed out potential problem employees.

There is concern that teachers who have plenty of prior allegations might be able to fly under the radar.

The most explosive recent case involves former Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt.

He has pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of lewd conduct for allegedly photographing students blindfolded, gagged and being spoon-fed his semen.

Berndt worked at the school for more than 30 years.

There were several earlier investigations and complaints about his conduct, but none resulted in criminal charges and discipline, and they were not in his record.

Deasy says he plans to try to change the contract clause.
More...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/29/tagblogsfindlawcom2012-blotter-idUS170000835020120229
Why Do Guilty People Plead Not Guilty?
By Stephanie Rabiner, Esq. at FindLaw.com
February 29, 2012

Mark Berndt, an elementary school teacher in Miramonte, Calif., recently pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing 23 students in his classroom. But authorities have photos depicting the abuse. They have testimony from current and past students. It seems like a slam-dunk case.

So why did Berndt plead as he did? Why do guilty people plead not guilty?

In one word: strategy.

To start, defendants have a Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination. They don't have to plead guilty -- even when they are. Instead, it is up to the prosecutor to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant committed the crime.

When the prosecutor has little evidence, it makes sense to plead not guilty. The defendant may have a very high chance of being acquitted at trial. But what about when the prosecutor has a lot of evidence, such as with Mark Berndt?

There are still very good reasons why guilty people plead not guilty in these types of situations. For one, it may force the prosecutor to offer a deal. Trials are expensive, even when the evidence is strong. A prosecutor may therefore be inclined to offer a lesser sentence to avoid the expense.
More...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/deasy-wants-change-in-teachers-contract-over-misconduct-records.html
Deasy wants teachers' contracts changed over misconduct records [Updated]
February 29, 2012

L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy ordered his negotiating team Wednesday to press the teachers union to eliminate a provision of the contract that allows information about alleged but unproven teacher misconduct to be removed after four years.

Deasy said the clause has hampered district efforts to identify potential problem teachers through a top-to-bottom review of district records — both centrally and at schools.

The superintendent's announcement comes the day after The Times revealed the little-known contract provision.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lausd-blindfold-20120302,0,5609684.story
L.A. Unified bans blindfolding during lessons
A new fourth-grade reading program recommends using blindfolds to help students learn about sensory details. But in light of the Miramonte Elementary case, district officials consider it prudent to eliminate the eye coverings.
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times
March 3, 2012

Who knew that blindfolding students was part of the curriculum in the Los Angeles Unified School District?

It was, until last week, when a senior district official nixed a lesson in a new fourth-grade reading program.

The blindfolding of students attracted notice after the January arrest of Miramonte Elementary teacher Mark Berndt, who has pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of lewd conduct for allegedly photographing students blindfolded and being spoon-fed his semen.

In light of that case, blindfolding "may be perceived negatively," wrote Deputy Supt. of Instruction Jaime Aquino in a Feb. 23 memo to principals.
 ::snipping2::

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/03/state-audit-looms-in-wake-of-miramonte-arrests.html
State audit looms in wake of Miramonte arrests
March 5, 2012

A state legislator plans to launch an audit of the Los Angeles Unified School District in response to the lewd conduct arrests of two Miramonte Elementary teachers and other recent sexual abuse allegations, The Times has learned.
 ::snipping2::
“After reading what was happening at Miramonte Elementary School and all the other incidents I felt it was important to evaluate LAUSD’s handling of claims of abuse against children,” said Assemblyman Ricardo Lara (D-South Gate), who chairs the Legislature’s audit committee. “All these shocking incidents highlight lapses in the school district, and I wonder how can this be happening.”

Lara wants an independent state team to review both the school district’s policies and how well they are being carried out to protect children. He also wants the audit to look at the role of other agencies, such as the Sheriff’s Department, in handling these cases.
 ::snipping2::

http://**/news/ci_20107522/pasadena-attorney-calls-independent-investigation-student-complaints-after
Pasadena attorney calls for independent investigation of student complaints after LAUSD arrest
By Lauren Gold, Staff Writer
March 5, 2012

Pasadena civil rights attorney Brian Claypool said Monday he plans to use the Miramonte Elementary School child sex abuse case to push for legislation to establish independent investigations of complaints against teachers.

Claypool has filed eight claims against Los Angeles Unified School District and said he plans to file three more by the end of the week on behalf of students who were allegedly sexually abused by former Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt.

In addition, South Pasadena civil rights attorney Luis Carrillo has filed 20 claims against LAUSD on behalf of children who were allegedly victim's of Berndt's abuse, as well as 13 mothers who allegedly experienced trauma from the incidents
 ::snipping2::

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-blindfold-20120306,0,6703148.story
Sexual abuse, and LAUSD's overreaction
L.A. school officials and parents are understandably wary after allegations of sexual abuse at Miramonte Elementary. But some new policies are just overreactions.
March 6, 2012

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/03/audit-of-la-unified-sexual-misconduct-policies-authorized.html
Audit of L.A. Unified sexual-misconduct policies authorized
March 7, 2012

A state committee on Wednesday authorized a comprehensive audit of procedures to protect students from sexual abuse in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The move comes in the wake of the arrest of former Miramonte Elementary teacher Mark Berndt and others for alleged sexual misconduct. L.A. Unified officials said they welcome the inquiry as compatible with their own ongoing efforts.
 ::snipping2::
The probe would likely look closely at six sample schools, possibly including two elementary schools, a high school and an independently managed charter school.

The audit is expected to begin in the next week or so and last close to eight months, at a cost of at least $300,000.

http://laist.com/2012/03/09/lausd_files_110_teacher_misconduct.php
LAUSD Files 110 Teacher Misconduct Reports With State in About a Week—Half of What They Filed Last Year

For the past few weeks, the LAUSD has been furiously going through its personnel files trying to find any reports of teacher misconduct that they might have missed in the past.

What's it doing with those files? It's sending them onto the state commission on teacher credentialing. Earlier the district admitted that it broke the law by not reporting the investigation into Mark Berndt to the state commission.

So far the district dug up 110 complaints about teachers and most of them are new, according to KPCC:

    From Feb. 22 through March 2, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing received 110 reports from LAUSD, more than half of the 210 opened cases from district reports in fiscal year 2010-11, said Nanette Rufo, general counsel and director of the Division of Professional Practices reported to the commission Thursday. Of the 110 cases, 83 were not previously reported by LAUSD, Rufo said.
 ::snipping2::

good grief!

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-lausd-new-resolutions,0,5423849.story
LAUSD Introduces Proposals to Protect Children from Abuse
March 12, 2012

OS ANGELES (KTLA) -- Two new proposals aimed at better protecting children from sexual predators have been introduced by the L.A. Unified School District board on Monday morning.

The proposals come in the wake of a string of sex abuse allegations involving LAUSD employees.

The first resolution, called "Protecting Children in the Classroom," will make it easier to fire certified employees, such as teachers, for unprofessional, immoral or criminal conduct.


Teachers who have been fired will no longer be paid while they fight the allegations.

If a teacher fights the allegations and wins, then he or she would be allowed to collect back-pay.

Additionally, any employee convicted of sexual abuse of a minor would not receive a pension, even if he or she retires first.
 ::snipping2::
A second resolution, called "Improving Transparency," aims to create ways to notify parents about misconduct allegations.

In the Miramonte case and several others, parents were upset because they did not know about the allegations sooner.

The proposals will be considered by the LAUSD board at their meeting on Tuesday.

United Teachers Los Angeles issued the following statement Monday:

UTLA supports measures to increase student safety, including vigorous and fair investigations of all allegations of misconduct.

While the school board considers changes to policy, it is important to remember that we are in the current situation because LAUSD has not met basic standards of vigilance on a daily basis. LAUSD’s failure of supervision led to a situation at Miramonte Elementary where a single principal supervised staff and more than 1,400 students, with no assistant principal.
More...

http://laindependent.com/lausd-board-members-call-for-changes-in-state-education-code-p199-1.htm
LAUSD board members call for changes in state Education Code
March 8, 2012

http://www.dailytitan.com/2012/03/making-changes-to-protect-children/
Making changes to protect children
By Joey Becerra
March 19, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Among the proposed legislation are several revisions that target union contract provisions that make it harder to investigate criminal behavior.

The first change prohibits bargaining agreements that restrict the maintenance of records or use of prior evidence from past accusations in new investigations. The second calls for the removal of a policy referred to as the “four-year rule,” in which union contracts stipulate that four-year-old charges of wrongdoing must be removed from a teacher’s record.

The Los Angeles Unified School District Office of the General Counsel also released a list of suggested reforms for the education code.

Among those changes, laws benefiting teachers rights were also targeted.

At the top of the list of 10 suggested reforms was a change to Education Code Section 44929.21, which would give districts the option of extending the probationary period of granting tenure to teachers from two years to three or even four years.

A major trend among reform suggestions by both Republican lawmakers and the LAUSD was a change in dismissal procedures of teachers who have been accused of and charged with criminal activities.

In a letter sent Feb. 29 by Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to Gov. Jerry Brown, Villaraigosa urged Brown to reevaluate the state’s dismissal policies. Villaraigosa wrote, “Moving to dismiss a teacher triggers what can be a twelve-step process, often lasting several years. This can be mitigated by giving school boards more authority to dismiss teachers when the situation warrants this.”

Villaraigosa also noted that, on average, dismissal proceedings can cost a school district $300,000.

In the proposed reforms by Conway and Huff, the politicians called for the elimination of notice requirements that delay the dismissal process of teachers accused of misconduct.
 ::snipping2::
Conway and Huff also suggested in their proposed reforms that, following an administrative hearing, districts should be able to dismiss teachers for disciplinary reasons with no pay.

Barbara Griswold, 26, a history major, said she doesn’t agree with the last clause.

“Essentially, you are innocent until proven guilty,” said Griswold.

According to the press release by Conway and Huff, teachers who have prevailed in the panel hearing or in court will be eligible for the back pay they lost as a result of being dismissed for disciplinary reasons.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-lausd-new-resolutions,0,5423849.story
L.A. School Board Considers Faster Firings for Misconduct
March 13, 2012

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- The L.A. Unified board will vote on two proposals Tuesday that would make it easier to fire employees accused of misconduct and to inform parents about them.

The proposals were introduced in the wake of a string of sex abuse allegations involving LAUSD employees.

 ::snipping2::
One of the new proposals would require changing state law to prohibit convicted molesters from receiving pension or retirement benefits, even if the employee resigns prior to formal dismissal.

It also seeks to expedite the process of firing teachers for cause by giving the Board of Education final authority over dismissing teachers.

Currently, an independent hearing panel comprised of two teachers and an administrative judge holds that power.

The changes to the law would have to be approved by the state Legislature or voters.

The second board resolution relates to notifying parents about alleged misconduct.

It tasks LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy with setting unified rules on what to tell parents when a teacher is arrested, under investigation or simply removed from a classroom due to an allegation.

It also would make some of Deasy's recent initiatives part of approved board policy.

They include efforts to create a centralized, confidential database where allegations of sexual or physical abuse and harassment against teachers could be filed.
 ::snipping2::

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2012/03/lausd_stephanie_abrams_social_media.php
LAUSD Hires Ex-Journo Stephanie Abrams as New Social-Media Director in Wake of Sex Scandal
By Simone Wilson
March 20, 2012

Video at Link

http://**/california/ci_20243703/state-agency-probing-130-lausd-educators-misconduct-allegations
State agency probing 130 LAUSD educators on misconduct allegations
By Barbara Jones Staff Writer
March 23, 2012

Based on information unearthed in Los Angeles Unified's personnel files, the state teacher credentialing agency has opened investigations into 130 educators and the district has reported some past allegations of misconduct to law enforcement, officials said Friday.

The California Teacher Credentialing Commission has been flooded with misconduct reports in the month since LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy ordered principals at nearly 900 campuses to scour personnel files for evidence of possible wrongdoing.

Deasy said Friday the review had turned up "some cases that we believe warrant police investigation," and that "some" teachers had been removed from classrooms while authorities look into the allegations. He declined to reveal how many employees were being investigated or any details about the allegations.

Deasy ordered the review of the files as he dealt with the fallout from the arrest of Mark Berndt of Torrance, who taught at Miramonte Elementary.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.the-signal.com/section/36/article/62235/   
Smyth, Knight introduce teacher misconduct reform bills
March 23, 2012

In an effort to address allegations of teacher misconduct in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita, and Assemblyman Steve Knight, R-Palmdale, have introduced legislation that will enact teacher misconduct reform if passed.

The first measure introduced into the Assembly by Knight and Smyth - AB 2028 - addresses administrative changes to empower local school districts to respond more effectively to teacher misconduct cases, according to a prepared statement from Assembly Republican Caucus leader Connie Conway, R-Tulare.

If passed, the bill would prohibit future collective bargaining agreements from requiring the removal of complaints, reprimands or investigations into a teacher's conduct from his or her file after a specified time.

Smyth has also introduced AB 1681, which would strip teachers involved in misconduct cases of their pensions.
 ::snipping2::
The measures were written in response to recent alleged incidents of sexual misconduct at LAUSD, including the investigation into LAUSD teacher Mark Berndt, who has been charged with 23 counts of lewd conduct, according to Conway's statement.

 

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/03/28/ex-miramonte-teacher-mark-berndt-to-appear-in-court-in-abuse-case/
Judge Denies Bail Reduction For Ex-Miramonte Teacher Mark Berndt
March 28, 2012

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A judge declined to reduce the $23 million bail Wednesday for Mark Berndt, a former Miramonte Elementary School teacher, accused of abusing nearly two dozen children.

Berndt, 61, pleaded not guilty last month to 23 counts of committing a lewd act on a child.
 ::snipping2::
n court Wednesday, Berndt’s attorney, Victor Acevedo, said his client was not a flight risk and his bail should be reduce to $1 million.

However, as KNX 1070′s John Brooks reports, the judge refused after claiming several of Berndt’s victims have reported nightmares about their abuse.
 ::snipping2::
Berndt will return to court on May 1 to set a date for a preliminary hearing.

Berndt was fired last January and, given school policy, was able to resign soon after — a move that allows long-time teachers to keep their pension.

He is being held in solitary confinement on $23 million bail, $1 million for each count.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-new-lausd-sex-report-policy,0,5039910.story
New LAUSD 72-Hour Policy for Reporting Sex Misconduct
March

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- Parents will be notified within 72 hours when a teacher at their child's school has been accused of sexual misconduct, under a new policy adopted Thursday by Los Angeles Unified officials.

The announcement came just hours after District officials confirmed that an unidentified teacher at Sutter Middle School in Winnetka had been removed from the classroom amid allegations of wrongdoing.

He is accused of inappropriately touching two female students.


Another teacher at the school reportedly brought the accusations to school administrators.

The new policy follows calls by San Fernando Valley school board members Tamar Galatzan and Nury Martinez to change how the district notifies parents about abuse allegations.

"This is definitely a move in the right direction," Galatzan said. "It strikes a delicate balance between the rights of parents to know what's going on and the rights of our employees."

Martinez said the 72-hour window will allow the district to communicate with law enforcement to ensure the district's announcement will not interfere with any investigation or potentially harm the victim.

"This new policy will begin the process of rebuilding trust with parents and kids," she said.

The district was blasted by parents at Miramonte Elementary for failing to inform them for more than a year that teacher Mark Berndt was suspected of molesting 23 students.

Officials also withheld information about the arrest last October of Telfair Elementary teacher Paul Chapel on charges of molesting four children.
 ::snipping2::
The new policy applies only to teachers and other certificated employees.

separate policy is being developed for teacher's aides, custodians and volunteers/coaches and is expected to be in place by the start of the 2012-13 school year.

Video at Link

http://www.kitv.com/news/national/L-A-schools-to-tell-parents-of-teacher-misconduct-quicker/-/8905418/9869208/-/sxywakz/-/
L.A. schools to tell parents of teacher misconduct quicker
Parents to be advised within 72 hours
April 3, 2012

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -

The Los Angeles public school system will notify parents within 72 hours when a teacher at their child's school has been removed from the classroom on allegations of sexual misconduct against students, officials said Friday.
The new policy comes in the wake of alleged sexual misconduct by teachers against pupils at Miramonte Elementary and other schools. Miramonte parents complained that they weren't notified for months about former teacher Mark Berndt, who has been charged with 23 counts of lewd conduct upon students. Parents learned of the alleged crimes through the media.

The only exception to the policy, adopted Thursday, would occur if the Los Angeles Unified School District were told by police to not release the information within the 72-hour period.
 ::snipping2::

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/04/miramonte-to-get-new-parents-center.html
Miramonte Elementary to get new parents center
April 10, 2012

Miramonte Elementary, the school where a former teacher faced misconduct charges, will have a new parents center next fall.

The $143,535 project to relocate and update the center won unanimous approval Tuesday from the Los Angeles Board of Education. The effort at Miramonte, which is located in unincorporated Florence-Firestone, is part of a $20-million districtwide initiative authorized in June 2011.
 ::snipping2::
At least five updated parent centers have been finished across the nation’s second-largest school system, and a group of 22 more were approved for construction in February. About 300 schools will eventually benefit.

The timetable for the Miramonte upgrade was accelerated in response to the teachers' arrests and also because the school was moving next fall from a year-round schedule to a traditional calendar.
“There’s going to be huge shuffling of classrooms and administrative rooms,” Nadia Funn, a development specialist with the district’s parent-services branch, said in an interview.

Miramonte’s current parent center is large, using three bungalows on the edge of the playground, but poorly equipped, Funn said. The new location, in the main building near the school entrance, will have computers, wireless Internet access, printers, an independent phone line, furniture fit to the room and a children’s play area.

The goal is to give the neighborhood’s low-income parents online access that they can’t afford at home. The center also will provide parent training and space for meetings.

The project will not pay for big-screen TVs and refrigerators, which were included in parent centers at schools overseen by the nonprofit controlled by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Those features were paid for with donations solicited by the mayor’s team.

The district projects are funded through voter-approved school bonds, and rules limit what the money can be used for, Funn said.
 ::snipping2::

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8626315
Teacher misconduct bill OK'ed by committee; school boards get fire power
April 18, 2012

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8643593
Miramonte teacher Mark Berndt hearing postponed
May 1, 2012

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A hearing has been postponed for Mark Berndt, the former Miramonte Elementary School teacher accused of committing lewd acts with his students. He will now appear in court Thursday.
Thursday's preliminary hearing will determine if there is enough evidence to put the former third grade teacher on trial.
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http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/05/03/berndt-hearing-delayed-until-june-400-pieces-of-evidence-submitted/
Berndt Hearing Delayed Until June; 400 Pieces Of Evidence Submitted
May 3, 2012

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/05/03/state/n112634D33.DTL
LA Unified teachers rally over removed staffers
May 3, 2012

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/05/04/california-teachers-protest-their-removal-after-molestation-scandal/
Los Angeles Teachers Protest Removal After Molestation Scandal
May 4, 2012

Los Angeles teachers, temporarily replaced by an entire staff of new teachers, at the school where two teachers were arrested on child lewdness charges in January demanded on Thursday that they be returned to their classrooms, saying they are being unfairly punished.

"It hurts, what's going on," said Ingrid Villeda, chairwoman of United Teachers Los Angeles South Area.

Villeda was speaking on behalf of many of the 85 teachers assembled behind her at a rally in front of the unfinished Augustus Hawkins High School where the teachers have been warehoused since being removed from Miramonte Elementary School in February.

Superintendent John Deasy (DAY-see) temporarily replaced the entire staff after veteran teacher Mark Berndt was arrested in January on charges that he fed semen to students. That was followed by allegations of lewd acts by a second teacher.

A spokesman says Deasy has no comment.
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http://www.ecollegetimes.com/student-life/l-a-unified-is-named-in-negligence-lawsuit-1.2739078
L.A. Unified is named in negligence lawsuit
By Nicole Santa Cruz, Los Angeles Times
May 7, 2012

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Unified School District was named in a negligence lawsuit filed this week on behalf of 20 former Miramonte Elementary School students who say they were victims of sexual abuse by a former teacher at the school.
The lawsuit, which names several school board members as well as the current and former principal at Miramonte, claims that the district did not do enough to protect students who had lodged complaints about inappropriate conduct at the school.
Mark Berndt, who in January was charged with 23 counts of committing lewd acts on children, was not named in the suit. He has pleaded not guilty. He was fired from the school, located south of downtown Los Angeles, a year earlier.
The charges brought intense scrutiny of the district, which launched an internal investigation to determine how Berndt, a veteran third-grade teacher, could evade suspicion for so long.
More...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/05/california-senate-supports-streamlining-teacher-removal-over-crimes.html
California Senate supports streamlining teacher removal over crimes
May 29, 2012

The state Senate passed a measure Tuesday that would make it easier to remove teachers from the classroom when they are accused of sexual abuse or violence against students.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) introduced the measure in response to allegations of sexual misconduct against several teachers at Los Angeles campuses including Miramonte Elementary School, where former teacher Mark Berndt has pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of lewd conduct.

Padilla told his Senate colleagues that while most teachers in California deserve the public’s trust, "Unfortunately, as in any profession, there are the few who abuse that trust and who sometimes engage in conduct so egregious that it  warrants decisive action.''

The measure makes it easier to immediately suspend teachers from classroom duty when accused of certain crimes, and gives the local school board, rather than a panel that includes a teacher, final say on dismissal in cases involving violence, drugs and sexual abuse against students. The bill also allows evidence more than four years old to be considered. The Senate voted 33-4 to send SB 1530 to the Assembly for consideration.

The measure is opposed by the California Teachers Assn. and California Federation of Teachers.Those voting against it were Democratic Sens. Roderick Wright of Inglewood, Ted Lieu of Torrance and Leland Yee and Mark Leno, both from San Francisco.
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/05/29/state/n183717D57.DTL
Bill responds to LA Unified teacher sex abuse case
May 29, 2012

The state Senate has approved legislation that would make it easier for school districts to fire teachers accused of gross misconduct.

SB1530 by Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla responds to a Los Angeles case in which a teacher was arrested for blindfolding his students and spoon-feeding them his semen.
 ::snipping2::
The bill by Padilla, of Los Angeles, comes after longtime Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of lewdness on a child.

Teachers unions oppose the bill, saying it harms teachers' due process rights. It passed the Senate 33-4 Tuesday and goes to the Assembly.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8681826
Miramonte Elementary parents, former students sue LAUSD
May 30, 2012

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Parents and several former students of Miramonte Elementary School are suing the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The lawsuit alleges 11 students suffered neglect and emotional distress. It names school Superintendent John Deasy and all seven school board members as defendants but does not specifically mention former Miramonte teacher Mark Berndt.
 ::snipping2::
Twenty other former students filed a similar lawsuit earlier this month.

http://www.scpr.org/blogs/education/2012/05/31/6412/lausd-files-more-600-cases-alleged-teacher-miscond/
LAUSD files 604 cases of alleged teacher misconduct with state from past 4 years
By Tami Abdollah
May 31, 2012

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Superintendent John Deasy ordered the filing or refilling of all cases of teachers accused of misconduct over the past four years in February after KPCC reported that the district broke state law when it waited a year before notifying the state that it had fired Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt. Berndt is charged with committing lewd acts with children.

"The whole project has been completed and all of the files we deemed appropriate to go up there were sent up," Deasy said today.

In all 604 cases were sent dating back to July 1, 2008, said LAUSD spokesman Thomas Waldman. According to the commission's most recent numbers recorded May 12, 103 cases were previously reported by the district and 122 are not within its jurisdiction; about 60 percent warrant formal review. The cases include a range of issues from failure to maintain a required credential to "an allegation of abuse of a child."

The agency, which opened 210 cases after receiving notices from school districts statewide in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, has scrambled to deal with a flood of reports from LAUSD and took steps in early March to respond to the increase

Deasy said he didn't have "the slightest idea" how so many cases went unreported. "All I know is that it has been addressed," he said.
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According to state law, a district must report to the commission certain changes in a teacher’s status, such as suspension without pay for more than 10 days or dismissal, within a month of the action.

The commission has the power to investigate such cases and ultimately can suspend or revoke a teacher’s credential for unprofessional conduct.

Deasy also ordered principals at 1,048 schools to review all personnel files for possible unreported misconduct over the last 40 years by May 30; that process is ongoing, Waldman said.
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http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/05/31/46987.htm
LAUSD Molestations Spark Grim Federal Complaint
By MATT REYNOLDS
May 31, 2012

 ::snipping2::
During Berndt's tenure, the parents say, two other teachers, Martin Springer and Richard Guevara, were also abusing students. Guevara is serving jail time, according to the complaint, and Springer was arrested in February.
     "In essence, at one period in time no less than three serial child molesters were actively abusing hundreds of Miramonte students at the same time for years," the complaint states.
     Berndt allegedly kept a jar of Vaseline on his desk which he used to masturbate in class, and sometimes wore a "freakish" Mickey Mouse costume with women's tights, the parents say. They claim the school's principal Martin Sandoval walked into the classroom as Berndt was videotaping students but let him off with a verbal warning.
     The parents claim LAUSD ignored those red flags and other instances of "freakish behavior."
     "LAUSD ignored multiple prior student complaints about Berndt and a district attorney investigation. LAUSD ignored parent complaints and failed to detect the massive number of lewd acts committed by at least three active child predators on one small campus for years," the complaint states.
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 ::MonkeyMad::

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/06/14/attorney-ex-miramonte-teacher-being-punished-in-small-jail-cell/
Attorney: Ex-Miramonte Teacher ‘Being Punished’ In Small Jail Cell
June 14, 2012

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The lawyer for a former South Los Angeles elementary school teacher accused of perverted activities said Thursday his client is unjustly suffering behind bars.

KNX 1070′s John Brooks reports defense attorney Victor Acevado continues to deny allegations that Mark Berndt gagged his students at Miramonte Elementary and fed them semen-laced cookies.
 ::snipping2::
My understanding is that the cell he’s in is very small, it’s like a 9 (foot)-by-3 (foot),” said Acevedo. “He hasn’t been convicted of anything and yet you would think he serving time for a sentence that he was convicted for and is being punished for.”

A judge set the next court date for August 16, but it appears the preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for trial won’t begin until January.

http://laist.com/2012/06/14/lawyer_accused_miramonte_tasting_ga.php
Lawyer: Accused Miramonte "Tasting Game" Teacher "unjustly suffering behind bars"
June 14, 2012

Is this the case of an accused man's attorney calling the "waaaaaambulance" or a legit gripe? The lawyer representing ousted Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt says "his client is unjustly suffering behind bars," according to CBS2.
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http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/29/local/la-me-teachers-20120629
Bill to expedite firing teachers is rejected
An Assembly panel votes down the measure to give school boards final authority to dismiss teachers accused of 'serious and egregious' conduct involving sex abuse, drugs or violence toward children.
June 29, 2012

Los Angeles schools chief John Deasy blasted state lawmakers Thursday for not passing a bill to speed up the teacher-dismissal process, which he and others pushed following the sex-abuse scandal at Miramonte Elementary School.

The bill fell one vote short of clearing an Assembly education committee when six of the seven Democratic members either opposed it or abstained. Committee Chairwoman Julia Brownley (D-Oak Park) supported the bill, as did four Republican colleagues.

The measure would have allowed school boards to immediately suspend without pay a teacher or administrator notified of dismissal for "serious and egregious unprofessional conduct" involving sex abuse, drugs or violence toward children.
More...

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1207/12/ddhln.01.

DR. DREW

Report Condemns Penn State; Miramonte Abuse Scandal

Aired July 12, 2012 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DR. DREW PINSKY, HOST: Here we go.

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And later, parents sue a California school district for failing to protect their kids from an alleged pedophile teacher.

Let`s get started.

(MUSIC)
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Next up, did a code of silence lead to the alleged abuse of at least 23 elementary school kids in Los Angeles? We`ll talk about that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PINSKY: Straight ahead, are child sex predators hiding in our kid`s schools? Dramatic new developments in the horrific new allegations of abuse at a California elementary school a parent of one of the alleged young victims is calling in.

Plus, your call and questions about anything and everything.

(MUSIC)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

"ALEX", ALLEGED VICTIM AT MIRAMONTE ELEMENTARY: (INAUDIBLE) is like a real laid-back teacher, like one of those cool teachers, like who you look forward go-to-going to his class every day. Yes, I was (INAUDIBLE).

PINSKY: What did that mean?

ALEX: Well, like I said on Fridays, like, would you have little prizes for the kids who were good, like the good kids. Would blindfold them and give them prizes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINSKY: That was a boy we`ll call Alex. I had spoken to him in February. Now 14, he is still coping with abuse he allegedly suffered at the hands of Miramonte elementary school teacher Mark Burnt.

Now, Burnt is charged with committing lewd acts with 23 children in his classroom. Parents now suing the school district. They say a code of silence hid the abuse that may have gone on for decades.

Joining me again, Brian Claypool, attorney for some of the alleged victims at Miramonte School. And CNN Espanol reporter Jacqueline Hurtado.

Brian, was there a culture of silence there?

CLAYPOOL: Categorically, there was a culture of silence. And I can tell you, I verified that because since I was last on your show, I received phone calls from at least three teachers who teach in the Los Angeles unified school district who had gone to administration in the Los Angeles unified school district and reported suspected child abuse. And what happened to them? They were retaliated against. They were told we don`t believe you.

They were demoted, and they were practically run out of the school. That proves that what they are doing is facilitating a code of silence, and they`re saying don`t report this.

PINSKY: Is that the administration or is that other teachers?


CLAYPOOL: It starts at the top, Dr. Drew. This has been going on for 20 or 30 years. Berndt was doing this back in the early 1990s. It`s a culture. It`s not unlike Penn State. It`s a culture that`s been created. And I`m telling you, it is all about the money.

A lot of folks don`t know this, but for every child that doesn`t show up in a classroom in a Los Angeles Unified School District, the district loses money. They get money if kids show up at school. So, then they have a decision to make.

Are we going to take this teacher to task for alleged child abuse and risk losing a bunch of funding or are we going to roll this under the carpet because we got to run a big business here?

PINSKY: Now, Jacqueline, you`ve been giving us the point of view of the community, the community members, parents who have the kids at the schools. What`s the current feeling on the ground there?

JACQUELINE HURTADO, REPORTER, CNN ON ESPANOL: Well, I`ve recently spoken to a few parents and I talked to this woman who said it took her about a month to actually report what was going on that her son was a victim.

PINSKY: And you told me they were fearful of reporting, right?

HURTADO: Yes, because of their legal status. We have to remember that wherever Miramonte is located, the community is a working class community. The majority of the community members are immigrants and a vast majority of them are undocumented. So, many of them didn`t report what was going on because they feared that authorities would go after them because of their legal status.

PINSKY: And you would also taught me that the way the Hispanic community looks at a teacher, it`s almost like a parent or family member, and we see wouldn`t (ph) think of reporting, or you might be a big resistance to that?

HURTADO: Yes. A lot of the parents that I spoke to said that they really never saw anything bad with Mr. Berndt hugging their children, attending birthday parties or things like that. So, when they heard the news, they were extremely surprised that this was going on for several years allegedly.

PINSKY: But you mentioned something here, Jacqueline, attending birthday parties. Brian, that`s sort of a boundary violation already. That`s -- you know, any time teachers show up in situations where they`re not teaching, kind of you`re in a circumstance where it can be problematic.

And I guess, the community sort of welcomed that kind of thing. But the reality is, professional standards would suggest otherwise.

CLAYPOOL: Dr. Drew, clearly, there are red flags that were floating everywhere. At Miramonte, red flags floating at Penn State. We, as human beings, have to see these red flags.

PINSKY: Yes.

CLAYPOOL: Inviting kids to parties. I interviewed some kids were Berndt had them on his shoulders out in the middle of the play area, girls, little girls on his shoulders. I mean, at some point, you have to say this is not --

PINSKY: Not OK.

CLAYPOOL: Not OK. You don`t even need the law to tell that you need to pick the phone up and say, look, I think this dude is weird. Let`s look into it. Do something.

PINSKY: Right. Now, I understand, Brian, you have something that you wanted to report here on our show, something brand new that I don`t know what this is, you tell me.

CLAYPOOL: Right. I wanted to, you know, announce on your show that after the Miramonte scandal unfolded, I took it upon my self to write a letter to President Obama and to his wife, Michelle Obama, and I implored them to look into the Miramonte scandal, because I`m a single parent of a six-year-old girl, and I had to look into the eyes of all these kids and see the terror in their face.

And I asked President Obama to launch a federal investigation of Miramonte and the Los Angeles Unified School District. Please to report that I received a letter from the Washington, D.C. FBI office. They`ve opened a file in the local FBI office, and we are very, very hopeful that very soon, there`s going to be a full-pledged federal investigation of Miramonte and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

PINSKY: I know. We`ll stay on top of that. I`m certain Jacqueline will stay on top of that, too. I`m going to take a quick call. Ashley in Georgia -- Ashley.

ASHLEY, GEORGIA: Yes.

PINSKY: Go ahead.

ASHLEY: Hi.

PINSKY: Hi.
ASHLEY: I called in about -- I`ve had an experience in high school where my high school teacher would press himself up against me, like his genital region, like in the hallway when it was really crowded, and he would like whisper in my ear, squeeze me. And then he`d kind of cough, excuse me.

PINSKY: Oh, my God! Did you report that? Did you get any support?

ASHLEY: No. I never did.

PINSKY: I mean, there`s actually name for that. It`s called frauderism. It`s not OK. It`s a violation of your basic integrity of your body boundaries.

ASHLEY: Yes. And I felt that. I felt completely violated, but I had prior sexual abuse that I had reported from a family member, and I reported and was not believed.

PINSKY: Ashley, unfortunate and horrible reality is that abusers somehow pick out people that have been victimized and they intuitively know that that`s a good victim who won`t come to their own defense because they`ve been victimized. Will you please -- let`s just do an exercise. Report that guy now. Brian, don`t you think she should? Just in case he`s out there still doing his thing.

CLAYPOOL: Just to validate for you, Ashley, we`ve had a couple young adults in their early 20s that have come forward and contacted my office to ask that same question. Can we still report Mr. Berndt for something that happened 15 years ago? Absolutely do it, Ashley. It`s going to help you feel better and help you work through this.

And also, you will then know that you will stop this individual from doing this to somebody else.

PINSKY: And remember, this is a new day. When Penn State has elevated this conversation to something that`s being broadcast throughout the country, I think people know to take this stuff seriously, finally. Thank you, Ashley.

We`re going to talk to a father whose son was also allegedly abused at Miramonte Elementary School and your calls. That`s next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PINSKY: We`ve been discussing an apparent code of silence at Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles. Apparently, this allowed someone power to allegedly abuse students for a year on year (ph) basis. Now, we had a call, Ashley, a few minutes ago, it was a very intense call. And I want to put a little emphasis on this.

I used the word called frauderism, which is when people lean up against you, they kind of get off on that, and may say things inappropriate, may make you feel like they`re violating your body space, which they are. And we`ve had a lot of calls today, people asking, was this sexual abuse? Did somebody abuse me?

If you feel like it was sexual abuse, please report it. Do not sit in silence. Tell people, because the probability is, if you felt violated, you were not the only person that this person has violated. Brian, do you agree with me on this?

CLAYPOOL: Dr. Drew, absolutely. The law even says you report suspected child abuse. It doesn`t have to be actual.

PINSKY: That`s the point.

CLAYPOOL: Suspected.

PINSKY: Yes. And this is the part that killed me about the whole Penn State thing. We, as physicians, know that if we even have hear say the possibility, we hand it off to an investigating organization.

CLAYPOOL: Absolutely. You know what offended me about the Penn State was when that lawyers came out and said we -- these allegations were vague. We didn`t know they were --

PINSKY: It doesn`t matter.

CLAYPOOL: It doesn`t matter. If you suspect it, you`ve got to call it in.

PINSKY: Now, Jacqueline, I understand there`s some other legal action being taken at Miramonte right now? Tell me about that.

HURTADO: Yes. On Tuesday, law firm presented a second lawsuit against the school district and two principals that were at Miramonte, and what this new lawsuit claims is not the children are involved in this one but the parents.

On behalf of the parents, this lawsuit is being filed saying that the children that were victimized or alleged victims of this case, their families, are being affected psychologically. So, there`s a new law -- a new lawsuit that`s been presented on behalf of the parents of 14 children.
PINSKY: And you have told me, the parents did feel somewhat terrorized by all of this for fear that they were going to be deported, fear -- all kinds of fears that, you know, maybe we don`t always think about, but these people, these families are feeling.

HURTADO: Yes. And when I spoke to some of these parents, they say they just didn`t know what to do. I guess, it just took them by surprise, everything that was going on. One of the parents that I interviewed said that they looked up to Mark Berndt like someone important.

Whatever he said, they would do it if he said that their children needed to study hard or they needed to be disciplined a certain way, they would have probably taken his advice because he`s a teacher.

PINSKY: OK. Well, speaking of parents and how they respond, on the phone is Paul. This is not his real name. He is the father of Alex who says that he had been victimized at Miramonte. Paul, if could you tell us what Alex alleges his teacher did to him.

VOICE OF "PAUL," SON ALLEGEDLY ABUSED BY TEACHER: Hi, Dr. Drew. Thank you for allowing me to be on your show again.

PINSKY: Yes, Paul.

"PAUL": (INAUDIBLE) he never told me nothing. The fact of being blind fold and putting this stuff in his mouth, you know, is kind of horrific for him to live through, you know?

PINSKY: And Paul, how is your son, Alex, doing now?

"PAUL": He`s doing great, doctor. He`s doing great. He`s in high school now. He knows everything is a struggle. We try not to talk about this, but we`re there for him. He already talks about it, but come on, it`s on the news every other day. You know, there`s (inaudible) reacting over all this.

Teachers that are arriving with all this problems, you know? Me, my personal opinion, they`re doing a lousy job because if they would have done the right thing since decades ago, then all these allegations after Mr. Berndt (INAUDIBLE) all these new teachers are coming out. I mean, what`s going on, you know, the LAUSD should focus on getting to the bottom of this. When are they going to put a stop to all this?

PINSKY: Paul, I`m going to interrupt you for a second. Brian, you wanted to comment on this.

CLAYPOOL: Yes. Well, two things. First of all, Alex is also in counseling. We`ve made sure that he`s got counseling. He`s regularly going to counseling. And another -- in order to try to stop this from happening, I think Penn State is a gift to us today.

PINSKY: Yes.

CLAYPOOL: Looking at in a positive light. It`s a blueprint for us in the future to try to make positive monumental change.

PINSKY: Yes.

CLAYPOOL: The only way we`re going to do that, though, I really believe this is, we really have to start prosecuting top officials, like at Penn State, for what`s called criminal conspiracy to commit child endangerment.

When you start sending a message to top executives at the Los Angeles Unified School District, at Penn State, or this could be happening at any other school across the country, you start sending a message that there are repercussions for your failure to stop known child abuse on your territory and you`re going to -- then you`re going to pay the price.

PINSKY: Do we need to bring administrators in from all across the land and help them understand what their obligations are, reporting obligations and that sort of thing? I don`t think anybody does that.

CLAYPOOL: You know what, that`s where I think you and I differ. I know you`re trying to see this in a positive light. I just -- I don`t buy it. I really think --

PINSKY: You think they do know? I don`t know that they know. If they do, fantastic. I hope they do.

CLAYPOOL: Consciously, no. They`re taught, they`re trained, they`re mandated orders.

PINSKY: Fair enough. If you say so. Jacqueline, thank you for reporting, and we`ll keep checking in with you on how that community is doing. Brian, as always, I appreciate you coming here and telling us about that -- particularly about that FBI story. It`s something we`ll stay on top of.

CLAYPOOL: Thank you, Dr. Drew.
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http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8736454
Miramonte Elementary School scandal may get FBI investigation
July 14, 2012

These cases are making me physically ill.  How could these POS do these things to children or anyone for that matter.
(http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo242/Brandi-Monkey/WEATHER/Animation1b.gif)

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Miramonte-Elementary-School-New-Year-Sex-Abuse-Suspects-Teacher-Mark-Berndt-Martin-Springer-165824726.html
Deal With "Aftershocks" of School Abuse Scandal
The school will be run by a new principal, Martha Contreras, who says her goal is to reestablish trust among the community
August 10, 2012

For Miramonte Elementary School, next Tuesday will mark more than the start of a new school year. It will be, in-effect, the reboot of a school shaken by charges last February that two teachers were accused of sexually abusing students.

"My concern is for student safety and academics," said Martha Contreras, Miramonte Elementary School principal.

Contreras came to the South LA school as an assistant principal last spring, when the school and community were reeling from the abuse scandal. Now, she’s taken on pressing challenges as the school’s new principal.
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Video at link

http://www.myfoxla.com/story/19297071/former-teacher-mark-berndt-molestation-preliminary-trial-date-set
Former Teacher Mark Berndt Molestation Preliminary Trial Date Set
August 16, 2012

Los Angeles, CA -

Former Miramonte teacher Mark Berndt was in court today for a status update / preliminary trial date hearing. Citing 'voluminous discovery' and the 'ongoing investigation', the hearing was rescheduled to October 18th.

The Judge mentioned that both the DA and Public Defender do not see preliminary hearing happening until January, 2013 and actual trial not starting until the end of next year, 2013.
 ::snipping2::

Video at Link

http://wtvr.com/2012/08/29/california-bill-on-teachers-accused-of-sex-crimes-fails/
California bill on teachers accused of sex crimes fails
August 29, 2012

Editor’s note: The following story contains graphic language and descriptions.

LOS ANGELES (CNN) – Allegations of lewd acts committed by a teacher on students in a Los Angeles-area elementary school sent shockwaves across the community last year.

But the outrage didn’t end there. Amid a year-long police investigation involving dozens of photos showing the alleged acts, the school district — faced with strict state rules — could not fire the teacher.

Instead, it paid him $40,000 to quit his job.

Police arrested Mark Berndt, 61, in January and charged him with 23 felony counts stemming from allegations that he bound young students and then photographed them with semen-filled spoons held at their mouths and 3-inch cockroaches crawling across their faces.

Investigators believe the children didn’t realize that they were being victimized, thinking they were playing a game.

Berndt pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held on $23 million bail while he awaits trial, expected next year.

The Los Angeles Unified School District found itself caught between protecting children and protecting the legal rights of a teacher who had been accused of — but not formally charged with — serious crimes against children.

Under California’s due process for teachers, the school district could have kept Berndt on paid administrative leave, but it would have had to engage in lengthy legal wrangling to remove him from his position. That process could have taken months, even years, and there are no exceptions for teachers accused of sex crimes against children.

Outraged by the Berndt case, California state Sen. Alex Padilla drafted a bill this year that would have allowed a faster way for schools to fire teachers accused of the most heinous crimes against children.

“We were very specific to those serious and egregious crimes,” Padilla said of the bill. “Sex, drugs, violence involving students. These are no-brainers.”

While senators overwhelmingly voted in support of Senate Bill 1530, it was met with strong opposition from the powerful California Teachers Association.
More...

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Settlement-Talks-Miramonte-Sex-Abuse-Lawsuit-167560435.html
Miramonte Sex Abuse Civil Lawsuit on Hold Until March, Judge Rules
Stay issued so plaintiffs, LAUSD lawyers can engage in settlement discussions
August 27, 2012

A civil lawsuit involving sex abuse allegations against Miramonte Elementary School is on hold until at least March, according to a lawyer representing students involved in the case.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Monday granted Luis Carrillo's application for a stay. The ruling paves the way for possible settlement negotiations to begin in November outside of court, said Carrillo, who represents 20 students and 14 mothers.

Carrillo said he has asked for a temporary delay in the case so the plaintiffs and the lawyers for the Los Angeles Unified School District can engage in settlement discussions and avoid exposing the children to the pain of a lengthy trial.

"This helps the kids," Carrillo said. "This is very extraordinary to have settlement discussions at the beginning of the case. I believe the district is acting in good faith by agreeing to this process. We want justice for the kids and to help them get over the memories of these episodes."

David Holmquist, general counsel for the LAUSD, said the district has been exploring alternative means to address civil claims in this matter without the potential pain of a lengthy trial.
 ::snipping2::
The civil lawsuit was filed on behalf of students and parents who have alleged sexual misconduct against former Miramonte teacher Mark Berndt.

Berndt and another former Miramonte teacher, Martin Springer, were arrested on sex abuse charges earlier this year.
 ::snipping2::
A separate criminal case against Berndt and Springer is pending.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-miramonte-sex-scandal-new-evidence,0,4231597.story
'New Evidence' Released in Miramonte Elementary Sex Scandal
October 1, 2012

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- Lawyers for the twenty-four students who were alleged victims of sexual abuse at Miramonte Elementary School introduced "a new piece of evidence" against accused Miramonte teacher Mark Berndt Monday.

Attorney Michael S. Carrillo says that during the investigation a Picasso painting they feel is inappropriate for an elementary school setting was discovered in Berndt's classroom.

Carrillo described the painting as showing "two women, their breasts exposed, touching each other."

The legal team says the discovery shows how oblivious LAUSD school officials and the schools the principal were to what was allegedly happening on campus.
 ::snipping2::

http://**/ci_22078074/lausd-jails-fill-teachers-misconduct-complaints-rise
LAUSD 'jails' fill with teachers as misconduct complaints rise
November 27, 2012

They call it "teacher jail" - the administrative offices where nearly 300 Los Angeles Unified educators accused of misconduct spend months on end reading, blogging or texting.

The cost is enormous: $1.4 million a month in salaries while district and law-enforcement investigations proceed, and $865,000 to hire substitutes to fulfill their classroom duties.

Los Angeles Unified officials insist the cost is worth it - the price the district has to pay for years of downplaying or ignoring suspected abuse. That practice exploded into a major scandal in February with revelations of longtime patterns of misconduct by teachers at Telfair Elementary in Pacoima and Miramonte Elementary in South L.A. | Read "Where the Miramonte, Telfair abuse cases stand"

Now, under a new zero-tolerance policy, scores of educators accused of misconduct have been pulled from classrooms and are facing dismissal. The number of housed teachers has more than doubled in the last 18 months.

Even grabbing a student's arm or looking down a girl's blouse triggers a full-scale investigation, with the district moving aggressively to fire those found to have endangered the well-being of students.

"You touch a child inappropriately, expect to lose your job," said David Holmquist, the district's general counsel. "We have zero tolerance for inappropriate touching and that probably hasn't always been the case, to this degree."

That total of 300 includes 50 teachers who have been placed on unpaid status as the district moves to fire them. Officials say there also are "a handful" of teachers who have successfully appealed their dismissals and are collecting their salary, but who officials do not want back in the classroom.

The district's handling of misconduct complaints is the subject of a report set for release Thursday by the California State Auditor's office. Requested by Assemblyman Ricardo Lara, D-South Gate, it is expected to look at the policies and procedures at the district and a sampling of cases at six schools.

The audit is likely to address LAUSD's more aggressive approach to pulling educators from the classroom - so many, in fact, that housed teachers are split into morning and afternoon shifts, with the balance of their "workday" spent at home.
More...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/11/audit-la-unified-sexual-misconduct.html
Audit faults LAUSD for not reporting charges of sexual misconduct
November 29, 2012

California auditors have concluded that Los Angeles school officials have been slow to act on some allegations of employee sexual misconduct and often failed to notify the state agency that oversees the credentials of teachers -- a notification required by law.

The review, released Thursday, was conducted by the California state auditor at the behest of the  Legislature’s audit committee. It was commissioned in response to fallout from the arrest of a veteran Miramonte Elementary School teacher on 23 counts of lewd conduct.


Authorities suspect Mark Berndt, 61,  of feeding cookies tainted with his semen to students, among other wrongdoing. Previous alleged questionable behavior by Berndt had not resulted in any discipline prior to his arrest.

Berndt, who is being held in lieu of $23 million bail, has pleaded not guilty.

L.A. Unified did not "properly notify" the state’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing "when required to do so, such as when an employee with a certificate to teach is dismissed while an allegation of misconduct is pending," the auditors wrote. The review “found that the district failed to report as required at least 144 cases — including cases involving employee misconduct against students — submitted a year or more late when the district finally did report them.”

Of these cases, “31 were more than three years late when they were reported to the commission. As a result of the delays in reporting these cases, the commission was not able to determine promptly whether it was appropriate to revoke the teachers’ certificates and thus prevent the individuals from working in other school districts,” auditors asserted.

The sensational allegations against Berndt sparked public outrage and scrutiny, but also prompted a response from L.A. Unified, which auditors acknowledged. They noted that L.A. Unified cooperated with the audit, agreed with its findings and has acted to address shortcomings.
In the wake of Berndt’s arrest, the nation’s second-largest school system reviewed old files for evidence of other potential problem employees, submitted old and new records to state regulators, and pledged to inform parents within 72 hours when an employee is removed from a school during an investigation into sexual misconduct.

The audit “captured accurately what the district has done in terms of improvement and where the district was,” L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy said Thursday. He said he was “thankful and appreciative for the honesty and accuracy” of the audit.

The audit also called for changes in state law to streamline the firing of teachers for gross misconduct. L.A. Unified has lobbied for such legislation.
More...

DOCUMENT
Audit faults LAUSD for not reporting misconduct allegations
http://documents.latimes.com/audit-faults-l-unified-not-reporting-accused-teachers/

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/12/la-unified-aims-to-settle-miramonte-lawsuits-by-end-of-january.html
L.A. Unified aims to settle Miramonte lawsuits by end of January
December 6, 2012

awyers for the Los Angeles Unified School District announced Thursday that by the end of January the district intends to settle 189 legal claims filed in connection with lewd-conduct charges against a former teacher at Miramonte Elementary School.

District officials said former state Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso is overseeing the mediation process between the district and 16 law firms that represent 126 students, parents, relatives and guardians. The claims accuse the district of not doing enough to protect students from veteran instructor Mark Berndt, even after fielding complaints about inappropriate conduct at the school.

Settlements would be paid for out of the district’s liability fund and possibly in part by an insurance policy.
More...

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8915637
Miramonte abuse scandal: Lawyers claim new evidence
December 10, 2012

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- Lawyers representing students and parents in a civil suit are leveling new accusations at the Los Angeles Unified School District over the Miramonte Elementary School abuse scandal.

Attorneys representing nearly 70 children and parents from Miramonte Elementary School say they have proof that the LAUSD ignored alleged lewd and lascivious acts by teacher Mark Berndt.

They say they have newly discovered documents supporting their allegations that there were clear signs of such behavior against children by Berndt.

"This is a pattern of years by the Los Angeles Unified School District to intentionally suppress and conceal evidence of suspected child abuse," said attorney Brian Claypool.

Berndt is now in jail. He is pleading not guilty to criminal charges of lewd and lascivious behavior.

There is a separate civil action against the school district. Parents are suing the school district for what allegedly happened. The school district denies wrongdoing and has been trying to negotiate an out-of-court settlement in the civil action.
More...
Video at link

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/12/lawmaker-revives-teacher-misconduct-bill.html
Lawmaker revives bill to ease firing of teachers in sex abuse cases
December 10, 2012

 California lawmaker has revived legislation to speed the dismissal process for teachers who sexually abuse students.

The proposal, prompted by the the sexual abuse scandal at Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles, died in committee last session after the state's powerful teachers unions declared it an assault on due process rights.

State Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) reintroduced the bill last week, saying the need for his legislation was bolstered by a recent state audit that found the state's lengthy dismissal process contributes to districts "entering into settlement agreements rather than continuing with attempts to dismiss the employees."

Last year, the L.A. Unified School District chose to pay $40,000 to Mark Berndt, the former Miramonte teacher charged with 23 counts of lewd acts on children, to retire rather than take him through the dismissal process. (Berndt has pleaded not guilty to the charges.)

The bill, SB 10, would expedite the dismissal process for teachers who engage in "serious or egregious unprofessional conduct": offenses involving sex, drugs or violence.
 ::snipping2::

http://**/news/ci_22163107/attorneys-representing-parents-miramonte-molestation-drop-out-negotiations
Attorneys for parents of Miramonte School children allegedly molested by teacher Mark Berndt want trials
December 10, 2012

PASADENA - Two attorneys representing dozens of children in lawsuits brought against the Los Angeles Unified School District over alleged teacher sexual misconduct said Monday they are dropping out of settlement negotiations and want to go trial.

Luis Carrillo and Brian Claypool told a news conference they have received “insignificant” settlement offers from the district for only three of the 35 children and 33 parents they represent in three lawsuits over alleged lewd conduct by a former teacher at Miramonte Elementary School.

The teacher, Mark Berndt, was arrested in January and pleaded not guilty to 23 counts that allege he fed his students his semen on cookies and photographed them in classroom “tasting games.” The district faces 189 legal actions in connection with the case.

“The district really does not care about the emotional damage the children have suffered,” Carrillo said.
District officials did not immediately return a request for comment.

Carrillo and Claypool said they plan to ask a judge on Wednesday to lift a litigation stay to allow them to resume preparing for a trial. The stay, which expires March 1, prohibits them from proceeding with the lawsuit while mediation is ongoing.

“All negotiations have ended,” Claypool said. “We plan to proceed to jury trial.”

District General Counsel David Holmquist said last week that he hoped to settle all lawsuits and legal claims by the end of January.

Two other lawyers last week said they also were not participating in the settlement talks and jointly filed four lawsuits against the district.
 ::snipping2::

This POS needs to go to trial.
(http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo242/Brandi-Monkey/WEATHER/Animation1b.gif)

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/12/13/attorney-delays-request-to-reduce-bail-for-ex-miramonte-teacher/
Attorney For Ex-Miramonte Teacher Delays Motion To Reduce Bail
December 13, 2012

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — An attorney for a former South Los Angeles-area elementary school teacher accused of sexually abusing his students delayed plans on Thursday to ask a judge to reduce the $23 million bail amount for his client.

KNX 1070′s Margaret Carrero reports criminal defense attorney Manny Medrano wants more time to review the allegations against Mark Berndt before filing the motion.

Medrano is the newly-appointed attorney for Berndt....

Early on Thursday, Medrano told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO he would ask the judge to reduce his client’s bail to a level comparable to other high-profile cases, such as the trials of Michael Jackson and Phil Spector.

“The bail amount is so enormous that it borders on unconstitutional,” Medrano said.

But Medrano decided to postpone the request when he was given copies of the police report, lab results, and other evidence against Berndt.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Ex-Miramonte-Teacher-Mark-Berndt-Hires-Defense-Attorney-Manny-Medrano-183428831.html
Ex-Miramonte Teacher Mark Berndt Hires Defense Attorney
Mark Berndt has hired Manny Medrano, a Harvard-educated prosecutor-turned-journalist-turned-defense-attorney
December 13, 2012

Mark Berndt, the former Miramonte Elementary School teacher accused of lewd conduct against his students, has hired as his defense attorney a former federal prosecutor who is also an ex-television news reporter.

Manny Medrano took Berndt's case up on Tuesday. A reporter for NBC4 for a decade who also worked at KTLA and covered the U.S. Supreme Court for ABC News, Medrano He replaces a public defender who has represented Berndt since last year.
More...
Video at Link

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/12/14/miramonte-teacher-sex-abuse-case-moves-closer-to-trial/
Miramonte Teacher Sex Abuse Case Moves Closer To Trial
December 14, 2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles judge says attorneys can move closer to trial in their child sex abuse lawsuits against school officials, after a former teacher allegedly fed his semen to students.

The Los Angeles Times reports Judge Malcolm Mackey lifted a litigation stay Thursday, allowing attorneys to proceed formally with their lawsuits.

Mackey directed all parties to continue mediation, but students’ attorney Luis Carrillo says the Los Angeles Unified School District has been too slow and made unrealistic offers.
 ::snipping2::

LA schools settle claims over lewd 'tasting games'
 
CHRISTINA HOAG, Associated Press, By CHRISTINA HOAG and GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press
Updated 6:58 pm, Tuesday, March 12, 2013
 ::snipping2::
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles school district will pay millions of dollars to settle claims and lawsuits filed by students and families from an elementary school where a third-grade teacher was accused of spoon-feeding children semen in what he called "tasting games," lawyers in the cases said Tuesday.
 
District officials did not reveal the total amount of the settlement, but attorney Raymond Boucher, who represents several Miramonte Elementary School students, said each claimant will receive $470,000.
 
District General Counsel David Holmquist said the settlement covers 58 of the 191 claims and lawsuits filed by students and parents against the district after the January 2012 arrest of former third-grade teacher Mark Berndt on 23 charges of lewd behavior spanning five years at Miramonte.
 ::snipping2::

A few of the cases involved another Miramonte teacher, Martin Springer, who was charged with lewd acts on a child in a case involving a second-grader that authorities said was fondled in class in 2009.
 ::snipping2::
The 58 people involved in the settlement are all students, he said

Springer has also pleaded not guilty
more at link
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/LA-schools-settle-teacher-lewdness-claims-4349214.php

Here is a bit more from the article cw618 posted above, as a refresher on the case.  Thank goodness the photo tech did the right thing and reported the suspicious photos of the students to authorities.  Investigators found a plastic spoon in Berndt's classroom trash bin that had semen on it.   ::MonkeyNoNo::  From what I've read, it appears there were previous concerns by some about Berndt's behavior.  How long and how many children were subjected to Berndt's sick fetishes?  Not to mention the emotional trauma involved, if there was semen or other bodily fluids involved as it appears from evidence found, the children risked getting HIV, std's or other disease if the semen had any of those in it.   ::MonkeyNoNo::

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/LA-schools-settle-teacher-lewdness-claims-4349214.php

 ::snipping2::
Prosecutors said in Berndt's "tasting games" he fed students his semen on cookies and by spoon, sometimes blindfolding and photographing them. Berndt, who taught for 32 years at the South Los Angeles school, has pleaded not guilty in the criminal case.

 ::snipping2::
The allegations against Berndt came to light when a drugstore photo technician noticed dozens of odd photos of blindfolded children and reported them to authorities. Investigators said they discovered a plastic spoon in Berndt's classroom trash bin that was found to contain traces of semen.
 ::snipping2::
Attorney John Manly said the district has not yet explained how the alleged incidents went undetected for so long.

"The district got a great deal today," he said. "There's not been a single explanation of who knew what when."

The case led to a wide-ranging overhaul of how the nation's second-largest school district handles allegations of sexual abuse after it was revealed that previous complaints about Berndt's behavior were ignored.

It also shined a light on how slowly state officials act to censure teachers and led to a flurry of allegations of teacher-student sex abuse in the district and in other school systems.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teacher-jail-20130416,0,5155435.story
L.A. school board to consider faster investigation of teachers
Under a proposal by board member Tamar Galatzan, district employees would be told why they've been removed from their job and advised quickly about the length of the inquiry.
April 15, 2013

http://**/social-affairs/20130814/lausd-begins-30-million-payout-in-miramonte-sex-scandal-claims
LAUSD begins $30 million payout in Miramonte sex-scandal claims
August 14, 2013

Los Angeles Unified has begun funding about $30 million in settlements reached with 63 children who claimed they were molested by two teachers at Miramonte Elementary School, officials said Wednesday.

The school district had been counting on insurance to cover most of the costs, but one of its carriers filed suit in June in an effort to avoid paying the settlement and asked a half dozen other companies to follow suit. As a result, LAUSD will pay the entire amount now with the hope of being reimbursed for some of the total, spokesman Sean Rossall said.

This is the first disbursal of monies for the settlements reached with the families of youngsters who said they were harmed by teachers Mark Berndt or Martin Springer, who each are facing multiple charges of criminal molestation. About 60 additional cases remain unresolved.

“Our biggest focus is to resolve these cases in a way that respects the children’s health and educational needs,” Rossall said. “We’re glad to have resolved and started funding these settlements and hope to resolve the rest.

“Despite reaching fiscal resolution on these cases, we welcome the opportunity to continue ensuring that we’re protecting students and ensuring their safety.”
 ::snipping3::
Berndt, 62, of Torrance has pleaded not guilty to charges of committing lewd acts against 23 children. He is accused of blindfolding students at the South Los Angeles campus and leading them in a bizarre “tasting game” in which he fed them spoonfuls of his semen and semen-tainted cookies. He remains jailed in lieu of $23 million bail, pending a preliminary hearing.

Springer, 51, has been ordered to stand trial on charges of committing lewd acts against three Miramonte students. He has pleaded not guilty.

http://ktla.com/2013/08/15/former-miramonte-principal-transfered-to-new-school/
Former Miramonte Principal Transfered to New School
August 15, 2013

HARBOR CITY, Calif. (KTLA) — Former Miramonte Elementary School principal Martin Sandoval met with parents Thursday at his new post at President Avenue Elementary.
Sandoval was the principal at Miramonte in 2012 when teacher Mark Berndt was arrested for alleged lewd acts with 23 boys and girls.

For the past year, Sandoval worked as a director at the North East Service Center.

There were concerns from some parents about his handling of the sex scandal.
 ::snipping3::

Video at Link

http://www.wfaa.com/news/national/231981651.html
Teacher to plead no contest in lewd 'tasting game'
November 14, 2013

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Los Angeles elementary school teacher charged with blindfolding students and spoon-feeding them cookies laced with his semen has agreed to plead no contest to all charges, an attorney for some of the victims said Thursday.
Mark Berndt plans to enter the legal equivalent of guilty pleas to 23 charges at a hearing Friday, according to John Manly, an attorney who represents 30 Miramonte Elementary School students and their parents. Manly said he was notified of the plea by prosecutors.
The plea agreement, first reported by the Daily News of Los Angeles, calls for Berndt to be sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Manly called the agreement a victory for his clients and said they are grateful for being treated "with decency and dignity" by prosecutors.
"He's going to jail essentially for the rest of his life," he said of the 62-year-old Berndt. "You can't ask for more than that."
He said prosecutors urged a plea deal because "they were concerned about re-traumatizing the children at trial."
The district attorney's office and Berndt's lawyer declined to comment.
 ::snipping3::
According to prosecutors, Berndt used the semen-coated cookies for "tasting games" with students. He was removed from the classroom in January 2011.
Berndt was fired and the Los Angeles Unified School District then paid him $40,000 to drop his appeal, which officials said was the most immediate way to ensure he wouldn't be a threat to other children. The move still brought heavy criticism.
Dozens of lawsuits and claims were filed on behalf of victims. Sean Rossall, a district spokesman, said 63 cases have been settled for a total of $29.5 million, and 71 are pending.
He said the district has not seen the plea agreement and won't comment until it's approved by a judge.
"We're focused on the civil cases and settling them in a manner that is respectful of the health and educational needs of students and their families," he said.
The Miramonte case led to a wide-ranging overhaul of how the nation's second-largest school district handles allegations of sexual abuse after it was revealed that previous complaints about Berndt's behavior were ignored. It also showed how slowly state officials act to censure teachers and led to a flurry of allegations of teacher-student sex abuse in the district and in other school systems.
Shortly after Berndt's arrest, the school district temporarily removed all 76 of the school's teachers, along with staff and administrators, putting them on leave and having them report to an empty high school nearby. Six months later, when the new school year began, 43 of them returned to a restructured Miramonte with a new principal. The rest either retired or went to new schools. None was accused of any wrongdoing.
Manly denounced the district for allowing Berndt to continue teaching after there had been complaints about him in the 1990s.
"For all intents and purposes , this man murdered these children emotionally," he said, noting all of the children are in therapy. He said some have developed severe eating disorders as a result of the abuse with cookies.
Another Miramonte teacher, Martin Springer, is charged with lewd acts on a child in a case involving a second-grader that authorities said was fondled in class in 2009. Springer is awaiting trial.

The sexual misconduct at Miramonte Elementary by Mark Berndt was just the tip of the iceberg... ::MonkeyNoNo:: 



http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-l.a.-school-abuse-settlements-20160516-snap-story.html
L.A. school district reaches $88-million settlement in sex misconduct cases at two campuses
May 16, 2016

The Los Angeles school district will pay $88 million to settle sexual abuse cases at two elementary schools where complaints about the teachers behavior had surfaced long before their arrest, officials confirmed Monday.

The settlement with 30 children and their families, finalized over the weekend, is the second largest in district history, and brings a dark chapter to an apparent close.

The cases at De La Torre Elementary in Wilmington and Telfair Avenue Elementary in Pacoima, emerged in the aftermath of better-known sexual misconduct at Miramonte Elementary, south of downtown. Altogether, a spate of prosecutions and lawsuits led to huge settlements and spurred the district to announce a raft of reforms at the nation's second-largest school system.

"We’re glad that we’re able to resolve both of these cases so we can avoid potentially painful litigation and put these cases behind us," said Gregory McNair, a senior attorney with L.A. Unified. "We’re turning a corner here because we’ve resolved the last two very large cases that were involving the district."

The abuse scandals prompted the school system to better document and retain allegations against employees.

The district also focused on better training on recognizing and reporting abuse and set up a special investigations unit.

Attorneys representing the students said the change was long overdue and they remain concerned.

Plaintiffs' attorney John Manly likened the district's handling of these cases to the Catholic Church's failure to halt abuse by priests.

“We feel this is an ongoing problem in L.A. Unified and we hope this amount of money will promote a change of heart and change of attitude when it comes to victims," said Manly, who represents many of the students and families.

The De La Torre litigation encompassed 18 children and 19 of their parents (who sued separately). The Telfair settlement involved 12 minors. The agreement provides for a process to distribute the money fairly, but the average payout will be about about $3 million per family, including sums that two of the Telfair students won through a jury verdict last year.

The two schools are at opposite ends of the sprawling school system -- Telfair in the north, De La Torre in the south. And Miramonte was miles from both. All three schools served predominantly low-income communities and involved veteran teachers who had been relatively popular, but whose conduct had raised questions in the past.

Miramonte teacher Mark Berndt attracted the most media attention after his 2012 arrest because of the bizarre forms of abuse into which he lured dozens of students. The payouts eventually totaled $175 million. Berndt is serving a 25-year sentence for committing lewd acts.

More...