They are purposefully depriving him of this opportunity (to shave) so he looks unkempt.Lawyer Victor Acevedo • Discussing the treatment of his client, teacher Mark Berndt, who stands accused of doing unspeakable things to his Miramonte Elementary School students. (Trigger warning on that link.) Berndt pleaded not guilty today in court, and his lawyer says that Berndt’s disheveled appearance prevented him from going in front of court with dignity. Acevedo also complained that his jailers identified Berndt as a child molester over the jail’s loudspeaker. “We cannot have the sheriff’s department deputies acting in such a way to essentially put a bull’s-eye on his head,” he told reporters after the hearing. The sheriff’s office took the claim seriously, investigating the complaint, which was denied by jail officials.
Perhaps the most heartbreaking part of the utterly disturbing situation at Miramonte Elementary School (note: trigger warning) is that the school had been on a bit of an upswing in recent years, with rising test scores, recent improvements to the building, and a notorious neighborhood that appeared to have cleaned up its act. But with two sets of unspeakable allegations involving three different teachers, the school — one of California’s largest, with 1,500 students — effectively has to start over for now, with a completely different staff, leaving many afraid that the recent improvements will be a thing of the past. (photo by Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
She was a teacher who would escort little girls into Berndt’s classroom when he was all alone. Berndt would come over in the middle of day, whisper in her ear, and they would giggle, and then teacher would pick out two girls, escort them through a common door, so that they were stuck with a pedophile in this classroom.Lawyer Bryan Claypool • Speaking on the rash of horrific charges to emerge from the pedophilia case at Miramonte Elementary, in the Los Angeles County School District. Claypool says he notified the Sheriff’s department after becoming aware of a female teacher, who he believes “patently aided and abetted” the alleged pedophilic abuse methods of fellow teacher Mark Berndt, one of two former teachers arrested on such charges. As a consequence of the scandal, and the public outrage directed at the school, the entire staff has been removed pending further decision. Be warned, the full details of this story are quite graphic and disgusting. source (via • follow)
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.
One of the largest elementary schools in the nation, Miramonte has about 1,500 students and a teaching and administrative staff of about 150.
That is in fact a drastic move. However, it is expected to be temporary: Officials say that most, if not all, teachers would return to the district eventually. The district has been rocked by allegations and charges over the past week.
» And parents were protesting outside: Roughly three dozen parents and supporters protested outside the L.A.-area school Monday, which has been rocked by two shocking but unrelated allegations of sexual molestation. The first case, involving a former teacher accused of doing unspeakable things to his students (note: trigger warning), was shocking enough; the second case, involving a teacher active until last week, only worsened things, as the allegations against him came out only as a result of the first case. The initial allegations did not lead to parents keeping their children home en masse (as the school had over 90 percent attendance throughout last week), but the second case, however, did. Low attendance hurts the school’s funding, so this hurt financially, but the school will also close Tuesday and Wednesday for emergency staff meetings, so the pain could go even deeper for the school. And things might go deeper: A third allegation at a different school in the region led to the arrest of a janitor.
Trigger warning: We have to warn you that this story is NOT pleasant, so please take care when reading.
Mark Berndt, a 61-year-old teacher who taught for three decades at Miramonte Elementary School in South L.A., is accused of lewd acts with 23 children between the ages of 7 and 10 — allegedly tying children up and putting giant cockroaches on their faces. And something else we’re not going to print. Berndt, who was fired in March and is being held on a $2.3 million bail, wasn’t caught as the result of children coming forward, but a photo-processor who turned pictures of some of the heinous acts over to the authorities. The L.A. Times has more, including a felony complaint. This is just appalling.
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