Officially The Most Fucked Up News Story I've Ever Read

[Correction]

What was that, you're not outraged yet? Lemme help:

L.A. teacher suspected of lewd conduct keeps benefits
February 1, 2012 | 3:08 pm

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 semen 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.

Investigators were a year away from filing charges against Berndt, 61, when they brought copies of disturbing photos to the school principal on Jan. 3, 2011, according to investigators. Sheriff's investigators had pictures of boys and girls gagged with tape, blindfolded and some were being fed a milky substance from a spoon.

L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy — then the No. 2 in command — said he acted to remove Berndt from class the same day he saw the photos and felt there was justification for immediate dismissal. Records indicate that Berndt was pulled from the school on Jan. 6, 2011. And, then-L.A. schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines, who has since retired, said he ordered Berndt to be fired when he heard about the photos.

The district’s legal staff warned Cortines that there might be complications for acting so quickly. Standard practice in L.A. Unified and elsewhere has been to “house” teachers in a district office, away from students, until a legal issue is resolved. But Cortines said he told senior staff that he didn’t want to wait, an account that was confirmed by a former Cortines aide.

By Feb. 15, the paperwork was ready for the elected Board of Education to dismiss Berndt formally and the school board ratified Cortines’ decision. As of Feb. 16, the district stopped paying Berndt, said Vivian Ekchian, chief human resources officer for L.A. Unified.

But the matter didn't end there. Berndt had 30 days to challenge his dismissal, which he did with the help of Trygstad, Schwab & Trygstad, a firm known for representing the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles. In this case, Berndt hired the firm privately; its specialties include defending teachers facing dismissal.

Berndt’s case was then set to go before an administrative hearing panel, a process that would take months. While awaiting a hearing, Berndt resigned from the school system in June 2011, six months after Deasy and Cortines determined to fire him.

Because Berndt never was officially fired, he retains lifetime health benefits that he earned through decades of service in L.A. Unified. Ekchian said the district is researching its options for trying to rescind those benefits should Berndt be convicted.

His retirement benefits were never at issue.

“A teacher will receive their pension regardless of the reason for their termination because it is a benefit the teacher earned through their contributions and length of service,” said Michelle Mussuto, a spokeswoman for CalSTRS. “Once earned, that benefit cannot be taken away unless it is determined the teacher obtained that benefit by fraudulent means.”

Berndt has been receiving $3,891.17 per month since last July.

[Callisto]

God bless the American legal system. Props to the superintendent for risking the money/legal ramifications to get the sick fuck away from the kids asap.

[Cairthenn]

This thread left a bad taste in my mouth.

[Correction]

It gets weirder though. In those 3 days between the principal being shown the photos and the superintendent pulling the teacher out of the class, they pulled kids out of class and interviewed them with a district counselor and a rep from the Sheriff's Dept. present, but didn't notify any of the parents about these interviews until after the teacher had been pulled from the classroom. Needless to say the parents are upset about the lack of involvement when their kids were being questioned about alleged sexual molestation. I'll try to find a link.

[Callisto]

It gets weirder though. In those 3 days between the principal being shown the photos and the superintendent pulling the teacher out of the class, they pulled kids out of class and interviewed them with a district counselor and a rep from the Sheriff's Dept. present, but didn't notify any of the parents about these interviews until after the teacher had been pulled from the classroom. Needless to say the parents are upset about the lack of involvement when their kids were being questioned about alleged sexual molestation. I'll try to find a link.

I'm not a parent, and I definitely see why they'd be outraged, but I think they made the right call there. The kids had no idea what was really happening and would be more likely to just give an honest account of what happened without their parents finding out and freaking out beforehand.

[Correction]

Here we go (podcast link): http://www.scpr.org/programs/madelei...-old-teachers-

[Avarice]

I love this country sometimes; really.

[hey]

Because perverts don't exist in every country.

[archibaldcrane]

http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8...e&ved=0CAgQtgM

I liked the reviews on google maps for the school.

Yes, it's in a fucking awful neighborhood.

[archibaldcrane]

Can one of you mexicans translate this for me?

Oraleeeeeee las vecinas de nico y horacio salieron en al rojo vivo!

[Mizango]

I dont even..

[Tajin]

Can one of you mexicans translate this for me?

Check it out!, Nico and Horatio neighbors (female neighbors) were televised in Rojo Vivo (the show name)

More or less.

[Tajin]

woooow...

[Salodin]

some one copypasta link for us tapatalk peepz please

[Blarg]

it gets worse guys. apparently after this teacher 'fed' them he would sit them all down and teach them evolution. it's one thing to sexually abuse kids but that is just disgusting

[Rhinox]

Nah still think the austrians who raped and imprisoned his daughters having multiple kids is even more fucked up.

[Slapper]

Oh shit! The organization I work for conducts an after-school program at that school

[Heavencloud]

http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8...e&ved=0CAgQtgM

I liked the reviews on google maps for the school.

Yes, it's in a fucking awful neighborhood.

.8% white lol

[archibaldcrane]

I'm just disappointed noone saw my review.

On the one hand, it has an accomplished staff of bi-lingual teachers well-versed in meeting the needs of the diverse community. On the other hand, the teachers sometimes feed their own semen to the students. All in all, I give it 3 stars.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S 4G using Tapatalk

[Mamimikun]

Thu Feb 2 2012 12:42 AM
SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- The longtime L.A. Unified School District teacher accused of gagging and blindfolding students, putting cockroaches on their faces and feeding them semen was investigated for allegedly fondling a girl in 1994, but no charges were filed, authorities said.

In January 1994, officials reported "an attempted fondling" at Miramonte Elementary School, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Dan Scott told the L.A. Times.