GUILTY CA - Teacher Mark Berndt charged with molesting 23 children

[Missizzy]

OK, according to the following article, he was fired in March 2011. What's he been doing since, though?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...iscovered-at-photo-store-authorities-say.html

"...Berndt was fired in March [2011]....."

So, who protected the children in his classroom from the time the investigation opened in October 2010 until his firing in March 2011? This article also states that he lived alone. Odd, but I keep seeing him linked to another male at the same address.

 

[Missizzy]

Did we see this? The 28 page felony complaint:

http://documents.latimes.com/mark-berndt-felony-complaint/

Some sad comments here too. One is from a person who says:

"....this teacher has tought 2 generations in my family... my kids who are now grown up and in college would visit him while in town... He was always the type of teacher that went beyond his work and made learning fun for the kids..."


This, folks, is how they get away with it. They are nice. They are great with kids. They go the extra mile. They make learning fun. Parents are led to trust, to believe the best. Then they strike.

 

[Missizzy]

I wonder what the statement at the bottom of page 23 means:

"....Defendant has been convicted in current case of a violation of PC 288 (a) against...."

That cite is the CA Penal Code for lewd acts with a child. How has he been "convicted"? Are they just stating what could result from a conviction?

 

[tlcya]

Sorry I couldn't get past the spoonfeeding :ill:

This is just so disturbing this man was a teacher for 30 years! I cannot even wrap my head ound how many potential victims that suggests.

 

[Belinda]

Sorry I couldn't get past the spoonfeeding :ill:

This is just so disturbing this man was a teacher for 30 years! I cannot even wrap my head ound how many potential victims that suggests.

Yes, that was the one that made me gag. Poor little children. Why would he do that? I just don't understand. What did he get out of that? Ugh, now I'm nauseous again.

 

[Belinda]

The first link says he was fired in January 2011, not March. Don't know which one is right.

Authorities arrested Mark Berndt, 61, Monday at his Torrance home following a year-long probe that began when a film processor turned in the images to law enforcement. Berndt had been a teacher at Miramonte Elementary School in an unincorporated area of south Los Angeles for more than 30 years, but was fired by the school district shortly after the investigation began in January 2011.

I'm also pretty sure that I saw somewhere that they made sure no abuse occurred during the investigation. Still looking for the link.

 

[Missizzy]

I have a sickening feeling that this number is going to grow.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2...aken-by-ex-calif-teachers-molestation-charges

"....Five more children have contacted sheriff's investigators since Berndt's arrest, which could lead to additional charges, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday...."


And possibly this answers one of my questions:

"....Some parents picking up their students at the school on Tuesday complained that school officials should have notified them when the photos were discovered last year. Berndt was fired immediately after the investigation began, and placed under surveillance, but parents didn't learn why until this week...."

 

[peeples]

Bond set at 23 million

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/01/justice/california-teacher-bondage/index.html?hpt=ju_c1

 

[pkz]

I can hardly reply about this story. I am so sick of all the abuse of our children.

 

[SuziQ]

Accused teacher's behavior was reported decades ago, students say
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...d-teachers-behavior-years-ago-they-claim.html

(snip)
Trujillo, a 30-year-old paralegal, said she was called before a school counselor with two other girls after one of them complained about Berndt’s alleged behavior.
“I didn’t say much during the meeting,” Trujillo said. Finally, 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 said she felt relieved. “I was glad that I didn’t get in trouble, that they didn’t tell my mom I was part of making up stories.”

L.A. teacher suspected of lewd conduct keeps benefits
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...suspected-of-lewd-conduct-keeps-benefits.html

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.

Full Coverage
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/mark-berndt/

 

[katydid23]

Hey I noticed online this guy has a photography business, if its the same MB...<modsnip>.

NO----this is a DIFFERENT guy. Delete this because this is some poor guy with the same name.


eta: we went through this already upthread. Different ages.
and this teacher took his pictures in for development. No photographer is going to go to CVS to drop off his film.

 

[katydid23]

So this sick twisted perp gets to keep his health insurance, yet most of his victims probably don't have any.

 

[Missizzy]

Parents are not happy:

http://news.yahoo.com/la-school-officials-chided-molest-case-silence-224328537.html

LA school officials chided for molest case silence
February 1, 2012

"Angry parents confronted school officials Wednesday, demanding to know why they weren't told for a year that a teacher was suspected of photographing children in class for sexual thrills.

The clash came at a forum staged at Miramonte Elementary School to discuss the investigation of Mark Berndt, a third-grade teacher who is charged with committing lewd acts on 23 boys and girls, ages 6 to 10, between 2005 and 2010 at the campus where he taught for more than 30 years...."

and

"....Using a cheap camera, Berndt is suspected of snapping nearly 400 photographs of Miramonte students, some with a giant Madagascar cockroach from a classroom terrarium on their faces.

Others were blindfolded or had clear tape over their mouths, and some were shown with a spoonful of milky liquid placed near their lips, sheriff's Sgt. Dan Scott said. The photo sessions were treated as a game and some children were given sperm-laced cookies to eat as treats, Scott said. Berndt didn't sell or share the photographs but did give copies to some children, Scott said. "It was like a souvenir..."

more at link

 

[Missizzy]

PolyGraph, it's not the same guy although I initially thought so. The birthdates are off by just a couple of months. I really feel badly for the photographer.

 

[Missizzy]

A timeline which was just released:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teacher-timeline-20120201,0,7850582.story

Timeline: An investigation unfolds
February 1, 2012

 

[katydid23]

That principal and vice principal should be fired as well. Even if this monster did this all after school, he should have never had the chances to do so. Every school I have ever worked in had very strong rules and regulations which would have made this impossible. Even the kids who stayed after school were made to check in with after care guardians. No students were allowed to be 'unsupervised' in a classroom with a teacher. If a teacher was in class after school the door would be open wide, and if a student was in there so would a parent or some one else. No administration should have allowed an ongoing situation like this.

 

[SuziQ]

If I am reading this case and another correctly, it sounds like the principal at this school is the husband of another elementary school teacher, who was recently charged with luring a student for oral sex. Here's the thread for that one... CA-Teacher lured girl for oral sex "Lollipop game" - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

Makes me wonder if all of them knew one another and were knowledgeable of the actions of the others.

I looked and saw a man as the Principal of Mirramonte Elementary?

http://miramontees-lausd-ca.schoolloop.com/cms/page_view?d=x&piid=&vpid=1324279995385

 

[hollye]

I looked and saw a man as the Principal of Mirramonte Elementary?

http://miramontees-lausd-ca.schoolloop.com/cms/page_view?d=x&piid=&vpid=1324279995385

Thank you! You are correct. Apparently, the 2 Miramonte Elementary schools are separated by about 235 miles. Very odd, since I read both stories for the 1st time today and thought it quite ironic. I'll delete my post to avoid confusion.

 

[peeples]

Case against him in 1993, was dropped

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/02/justice/california-teacher-bondage-photos/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

 

[Belinda]

Something needs to be done about the excessive processing time for evidence. People are left on the streets for months and sometimes years waiting for DNA or other results. That is unacceptable. They said they kept an eye on him, but are they SURE he didn't victimize anyone during the year before his arrest? He should have been in jail.

As far as obtaining a DNA sample, I don't understand why all of the evidence they already had wasn't enough to just obtain a warrant for a sample. I understand about protecting the rights of everyone, but I think it goes too far sometimes.