Mark Berndt Spoon Fed Third Grade Students Semen, Charged with Molestation
Mark Berndt, a teacher who taught third grade for over thirty years, was arrested Monday with 23 charges of molestation.
Berndt was fired from his job when over 400 photographs emerged, revealing blindfolded children holding a blue spoon near their mouths, filled with a white substance. At first, investigators were unsure what to make of the pictures because the children appeared to be smiling and unthreatened.
After the teacher was arrested, investigators returned to the classroom where they discovered a blue spoon matching the one seen in the pictures, in a trashcan. Further investigation of the spoon revealed that it had trace amounts of semen. The DNA of the semen was linked back to Mark Berndt.
Authorities believe that Berndt had the children eat his semen and then led them to believe that is was some sort of game. The children were blindfolded and gagged. Some pictures also reveal Madagascar cockroaches crawling over the children's faces.
Berndt, 61, now faces 23 molestation charges for actions that investigators believe took place from 2005-2010, although it is uncertain how early the incidents started to occur. Berndt is currently on $2.3 million bail.
A film professor was the first to discover the photographs over a year ago. "If it wasn't for the film processor, this could still be continuing today," said Lt. Carlos Marquez of the Los Angeles County sheriff's department.
The incident took place at Miramonte Elementary School in South Los Angeles, where parents raised concerns about not being notified of what was going on.
"My concern is why, if the principal knew this in advance, why didn't he inform us?" Gloria Polanco, the mother of a second- and a third-grader, told the Associated Press. "How long has he been doing this?"
The children were fed the semen using a spoon or a cookie. Some photos revealed Berndt with his arm around the child, or over their mouths. More than 80 children and staff have been interviewed. The Associated Press reported that children recalled being fed something distasteful. The children are being encouraged to get tested for STDs.