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A teacher bound and gagged students and put cockroaches on their faces. And no child ever reported it?

12:47 pm January 31, 2012, by Maureen Downey

I avoid posting a lot of initial reports about educators gone bad — including the recent spate of local stories about educators  “assaulting” kids — because the charges are often not substantiated.  But I have to offer up this story out of California for discussion for one reason — no student ever reported the alleged abuse, which is shocking once you read the sorts of things this teacher is accused of doing to his students. And photographing the abuse.

I wrote my master’s thesis on child abuse and understand why kids protect their parents but am baffled why no students told their parents about being bound and gagged by their teacher and having cockroaches placed on their faces. When I drive carpool, I hear a litany of so-called teacher transgressions from the kids, along the lines of, “Mrs. X was  mean because she wouldn’t give me enough time to finish my paper”  or “Mr. Y made us run extra laps in PE because some kids were talking.”

I can’t imagine not a single child alerting their parents to these horrors. Can anyone see their own child failing to report these incidents?

Here is an excerpt from the chilling story on AJC.com:

A Los Angeles elementary 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. The investigation began when a film processor gave authorities some 40 photographs depicting blindfolded children in a classroom with their mouths taped shut.

A sheriff’s department statement said Mark Berndt, 61, was arrested Monday at his Torrance home 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 between 2008 and 2010.

Berndt worked for more than 30 years at Miramonte Elementary School in an unincorporated area of south Los Angeles before being fired. Some of the photos showed Berndt with his arm around the children or with his hand over their mouths. 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. A blue plastic spoon and container found in trash in Berndt’s classroom tested positive for semen, the statement said.

Some of the children’s mouths and faces had large, live Madagascar-type cockroaches on them, according to the statement. “It makes you sick to your stomach,” Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy told KTTV Fox 11 News, which first reported the arrest. The teacher was immediately removed when police informed the district and was fired, Deasy said.

No student ever 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.

–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog

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169 comments Add your comment

ScienceTeacher671

February 3rd, 2012
10:42 pm

Frankly, I can’t understand how someone who supposedly works and commutes 10-12 hours per day and seems to post on this blog 24/7 could possibly be a “Good Mom,” but maybe internet personas can be deceiving?

It would be nice if we could stop the strawman tactics of bashing other posters and concentrate on the issues at hand.

To Science Teacher from Good Mom

February 4th, 2012
12:43 am

You said “It would be nice if we could stop the strawman tactics of bashing other posters and concentrate on the issues at hand.”

but then you just also bashed another poster (me) by saying “Frankly, I can’t understand how someone who supposedly works and commutes 10-12 hours per day and seems to post on this blog 24/7 could possibly be a “Good Mom,” but maybe internet personas can be deceiving?”

Ironic, huh, Science Teacher?

But you go ahead and take your best shot, I can take it. I won’t slink away with my tail between m y legs like catlady.

…and because you asked, I’ll say again. I’m on staycation and blogging much more than usual. No 60 hours work weeks for me at all. Just relaxiing with the kids and enjoying the nice weather.

and if my blogs become tiresome, please feel free to make good use of that page down button on your keyboard…

and if you want a sure fire way to shut me up altogether, go tell your teacher-colleagues to quit whining on a public blog where every parent can read how much the teachers in Atlanta hate their childrne and want to “piss on them” – a quote from teacher V for Vendetta/Viscious.

Piss on them.

This teacher, V for Vendetta wants to piss on our children and you think that isn’t abusive?

ScienceTeacher671

February 4th, 2012
6:51 am

“Good Mom”, it was purposeful, because you’ve been doing 80% of the trolling on the blog.

To Science Teacher from Good Mom

February 4th, 2012
9:50 am

Science Teachere you write “Good Mom”, it was purposeful, because you’ve been doing 80% of the trolling on the blog.”

Ys, purposeful. That’s the ironic part. You throw a punch at my face and then complain we shouldn’t be throwing punches at one another.

…but I am not complaining, just observing the duplicitous nature of your comments and throwing it right back at cha.

If you don’t like my posts (and most teachers don’t) they why bother reading them? Just press Page Down. I always sig my comments as Good Mom, Good Mother or GM so they are very obvious. They are easy to ignore and…

if you want to decrease my comments, then stop responding to them, because I’ll always respond back…

and…

if you want me to shut my pie hole altogether, then you and your teachers should stop whining on a public blog about how much you hate your job, hate your managers and hate our children.

…because when you put down an innocent child you will always, always, always, have me to defend them.

teacher&mom

February 4th, 2012
11:36 am

To all: The “Report this comment” is a blogger’s friend and troll’s enemy. Perhaps we should utilize this option on a more consistent basis….

…or we can continue to allow this blog to become a topix.com site.

Off the read the Washington Post education blogs…where debate and discourse does not disintegrate into a silly fracas.

HS Public Teacher

February 4th, 2012
4:01 pm

@Good Mom –

Wow. You just cannot be as stupid as you seem on this blog…. can you?

Yes, the man accused of these monsterous acts currently retains his certification and stuff. However, CURRENTLY, he has not been found guilty. Get it? I doubt it.

Once justice is done, then the rest falls into place. Get it? I doubt it.

Finally, I am glad to hear that you agree that only 0.8% of teachers in the US have had their certifications revoked due to pedophile/other types of things. And, I am glad that you agree that this percentage is small.

Now that you agree on that, can you agree that it is likely that other professions would have a higher percentage? For example, occupations such as the priesthood, medical doctors, and so on would likely have a high percentage – can we agree on that?

HS Public Teacher

February 4th, 2012
4:03 pm

@Good Mom – LOL! LOL! LOL!

You want to paint yourself as some defender of children? Wow. I hope that they have someone much better than you!!!

Mahopinion

February 4th, 2012
4:04 pm

@ Maureen

A second teacher has been charged at the same school:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/second-teacher-at-la-school-arrested.html

To HS teacher from Good Mom

February 4th, 2012
4:09 pm

HS Teach,

I think we have a very fundamental disagreement that will very likely never be overcome.

My top priority is to protect children. Your top priority is to protect teachers.

Because each of us has an opposite fundamental belief that we will not change I think it would be best for you and me and everyone else listening if we just stopped this particular blog-thread in the interest of giving other commenters a break.

If you comment back, I’ll read it but I just won’t respond. I hope you understand, I’m not ignoring you, I just want to take a break from the back and forth in the interests of others

Good Ma

Mahopinion

February 4th, 2012
4:11 pm

Prof
February 3rd, 2012
10:57 am

@ Mahopinion, 9:48 am. Yes.

——-

Then please pray that no one like you is ever standing next to you if some one assaults you. They just might need to wait for a trial to determine that what is happening to you is wrong.

And please stay away from kids. If you need a trial to be told that photographing restrained students is wrong than you have no business being in a classroom. May I presume you are a graduate of Penn State?

HS Public Teacher

February 5th, 2012
12:39 am

@Good Mom -

You lie. Why would you say that my “top prioity is to protect teachers”? That is simply an outright lie.

I also think that it is a lie that your “top priority is to protect children.” You have not shown that quality whatsoever in any of your posts. The only thing you do is bash teachers. If you think that bashing teachers is “protecting children” then u r a hopeless person anyway.

Fred

February 5th, 2012
2:34 am

Since I can STILL post on this blog I can assume I didn’t cross any lines. I am still as disgusted as I was when I made my second post.

Fred

February 5th, 2012
2:55 am

catlady

February 1st, 2012
6:39 am

To those of you who say “you make me sick,” oh, well. Sometimes trying to be fair to someone who is accused of something, but not convicted, or arguing the opposite, gets you approbation from others.

IF this person did this, he should be put UNDER the jail, AFTER he is convicted.

As to my religious beliefs, NO, I have never been Baptist, or Catholic.

As to my “popularity,” kids and their parents clammor to be in my classes. The kids and their parents come back to see me and thank me. You are off base on this. I am frequently one of a child’s few cheerleaders and advocates.

And, yes, I have seen MANY horrors visited upon kids by their parents or parent’s live in, in the nearly 4 decades as a teacher, starting the first year when a little girl came to school with a handprint on her face. She had walked in on her mother and boyfriend in bed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I really lack any words to say here that could actually be printed. Well some MAY be printed, but they wouldn’t stay long.
I pity you. I really do.

To Fred from Good Mom

February 5th, 2012
7:15 am

Good Morning, Fred:)
GM

To HS Teacher from Good Mom

February 5th, 2012
7:16 am

I understand and accept your criticisms; however:

“I won’t respond with anything in kind. I promised teacher&mom I wouldn’t criticize the teachers on this blog for the next 48 hours and I intend to keep my promise. So, if you say anything negative to me, I will read it but I won’t respond in kind. I hope you understand I am not ignoring you, just trying to give others a break from the constant back and forth.”

Good Mother
Good Mom
Good Ma
Good Me Ma
GM
etc.

To Fred from Good Mom

February 5th, 2012
7:20 am

Fred, regarding your post on another blog about citations for being a good mother….I don’t have any citations for being a good mom, but (and I swear) I did win a watermelon eating contest. GM

Observer

February 5th, 2012
11:52 am

@ Fred, Feb. 5, 2:55 am. You quote Catlady here. This is all she posted on the subject. She’s saying that the person accused of these crimes should only be put in jail after being convicted in court, and also that parents sometimes are guilty of abuse to their children too.

And this is what you posted here on Jan. 31, 11:43 pm: “I really don’t like you catlady. I feel sorry for your children. I feel sorry for the children who suffer under your teaching. I feel sorry for anyone who comes in daily contact with you. I feel sorry for myself for the taint I bear for reading anything you have ever posted. There is something sick and twisted about you in my most honest opinion. I don’t know what’s wrong with you, why you hate people so much, especially children, but I don;t think you should have any contact with them and think it’s a travesty that you are a teacher.”

I honestly don’t understand where you’re coming from, and I didn’t when I read it either. Look at your quotes from her above. Where is she expressing any sympathy for the accused California teacher, any suggestion that she condones his pedophiliac behavior? She’s reminding us that in this country the accused must be found guilty in a court of law and not public opinion.

It’s not easy to remind a lynch mob that a law-court should decide the guilt of someone accused of a terrible crime, for very often the mob turns its wrath upon the person saying this. But still it should be said….in this country, at least.

Observer

February 5th, 2012
11:57 am

@ Fred. Actually, she wrote “UNDER the jail after being convicted”…which I presume means executed and buried under the jail. Wouldn’t you agree with that punishment for this particular accused person?

Biologist

February 5th, 2012
12:38 pm

Hey didn’t the star or Waiting for Superman, Michelle Rhee admit to duct taping her students when she was a teach for america teacher?
Sources:
http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=1675
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2010/08/16/baltimore-schools-have-really-strong-masking-tape/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-zucker/michelle-rhee-and-masking_b_801339.html

Perhaps since Rhee did such a thing, these other teachers took it to be accepted practice?!
She is a “Superman” and a “Bee Eater” and everything that is good and right about education reform after all.

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