Elementary school teacher arrested for tying up and feeding students his semen

posted at 12:02 pm on February 1, 2012 by

Even the network NBC has its limits, having recently pulled an episode of its “reality series” Fear Factor in which contestants would be asked to drink donkey semen. Not so a California elementary school teacher, who is reported to have tied up and blindfolded his young charges, placed live cockroaches on their faces, and—yes—fed them spoonfuls of his own semen. From the Daily News of New York:

Mark Berndt, 61, was arrested Monday and charged with lewd acts on more than 20 children aged 7 to 10 years old, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

A teacher with three decades of experience at Miramonte Elementary School in South Los Angeles, Berndt was busted after a film processor discovered 40 prints of the dastardly acts and turned them over to authorities.

The photos, along with more sickening pics recovered from Berndt’s home, show the defenseless students bound and blindfolded with giant Madagascar cockroaches crawling on them in a classroom, authorities said.

Is this the kind of man you want teaching your children—someone so devoid of common sense that he keeps evidence of his twisted crimes?

Police also found photos of young girls holding a blue plastic spoon filled with an unknown clear white liquid up to their mouths. A spoon matching that description was recovered from the trash in Berndt’s classroom. The spoon tested positive for Berndt’s semen.

More than two dozen children were identified in the 390 photos. A video report from Los Angeles station KTLA notes that investigators are speculating that other victims may yet turn up. Adult pornography in Berndt’s house is thought to have inspired the bondage-type poses in which the children are depicted in the photos.

Berndt was arrested at his home on Monday. He has been charged with 23 counts of child molestation and is being held on $2.3 million bail.

One abiding concern is that none of the children thought to complain to parents or other authority figures.

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Ick….

*waits for Teacher’s Union to point out that teachers can’t even afford to buy digital cameras, but must use outdated cameras with film and then wait for their pictures to be processed….*

TeresainFortWorth on February 1, 2012 at 12:22 PM

Sick.

AH_C on February 1, 2012 at 12:23 PM

Is this the kind of man you want teaching your children—someone so devoid of common sense that he keeps evidence of his twisted crimes?

Well, I kinda figured that out at the headline.

avgjo on February 1, 2012 at 12:58 PM

sorry, badly worded.

I kinda figured out the answer to that question at the headline.

avgjo on February 1, 2012 at 1:10 PM

He seems a bit odd.

Random on February 1, 2012 at 1:34 PM

Guess we know one guy who won’t be receiving “Teacher of the Year” award.

This is what happens when parent(s) are too ignorant or oblivious to care about their children. Sick people like this can run rampant.

NoDonkey on February 1, 2012 at 1:50 PM

Waiting for the union to defend him…

PattyJ on February 1, 2012 at 2:02 PM

Oh come on. I don’t think this means the parents don’t care about their children. Some psychos are skilled manipulators, he was in a position of trust and authority, and kids are vulnerable to this by their very nature.

He probably twisted them up so much that they liked him for the most part. In a very sick way, he probably liked them too.

Random on February 1, 2012 at 2:17 PM

Sick.

AH_C on February 1, 2012 at 12:23 PM

I’d add a second word. Same number of letters, also ends with K, but starts with F.

Red Cloud on February 1, 2012 at 2:24 PM

I’d add a second word. Same number of letters, also ends with K, but starts with F.

Fink?

Howard Portnoy on February 1, 2012 at 2:33 PM

Kill him. You don’t want to do it, allow me. Sick, worthless bastard.

princetrumpet on February 1, 2012 at 2:38 PM

Fink?

Howard Portnoy on February 1, 2012 at 2:33 PM

Ooh, close. :-)

Red Cloud on February 1, 2012 at 2:40 PM

One abiding concern is that none of the children thought to complain to parents or other authority figures.

This is what happens when the only thing preached to our children is “tolerance”.

Dominion on February 1, 2012 at 2:59 PM

This guy is obviously auditioning to be Obama’s new Safe Schools Czar.

exlibris on February 1, 2012 at 3:01 PM

because it’s so hard to remove teachers who just suck at teaching, it seems apparent that the crappiest of educators and the most depraved of perpetrators feel impervious. when the union makes it impossible to fire one of their dues paying drones no matter what they do, the more twisted among us see a green light. thanks democrats. our tax dollars and political clout should flow to empowering and protecting the rights of children and their parents not teacher’s unions- strangers shamelessly making coin off of your children and insisting you have no say in the matter.

schools seem more focused on keeping sugar and bad foods,seasonal festivities and “islamophobia” out of the classroom than addressing keeping children safe from each other and teachers like this. in other words left wing ideology is more important than your child or his/her education.

pedophiles can be quite charming with children and the parents- that’s because that is exactly how they get at children. they are above all else manipulative and are quite adept at picking children that are most vulnerable. the notion that child molesters are all glaringly apparent drooling ogres is a lie, a facade that hides the reality that most children are victimized by family members anyway. the inability of our society to rationally, openly address the very large and toxic problem we have with the sexual exploitation and abuse of children by adults further hinders our ability to keep children safe from men like this.

on a more frightening note, any transcript of appeals criminal cases involving the serial rape of children( really, let’s not kid ourselves calling it molestation- it’s the rape of children by adults) and particularly brutal sexually motivated serial rape and/or murder of adults( primarily being women)indicates a push by defense attorneys( the other democrat most favored pets next to teachers) to force the courts to recognize the desire to sexually assault children and women and the desire to brutally murder them in elaborate BDSM scenarios as an illness -rendering any serious punishment particularly jail time for such crimes unconstitutional. they’re mentally ill therefore not responsible so should be let out of jail- after “ineffectual council” it’s the angle being worked to keep the most destructive of humans on the streets. watch- this creep will be portrayed as ill and needing help. most sexually motivated crimes- even those against children- are pled down to minor offenses.maybe they’ll make an example of him- just this one because it’s so outrageous.maybe. probably not. our courts are outrageously pro-defendant.

wake up. liberals and democrats care more about the rights of child rapers, freaks like this, and murderers than they do about you or your children- and the proof is painfully apparent in how our society deals with sex offenders. take a look at the tiny sentences child “molesters” and rapists receive even if the state is lucky enough to get a conviction against them.

mittens on February 1, 2012 at 3:07 PM

princetrumpet on February 1, 2012 at 2:38 PM

Oh no, we’re a compassionate society that allows monsters like this to prey on children.

Then we’ll pay hundreds of thousands of dollars of his legal fees, a cushy jail cell with three hots and a cot, medical care, etc.

Whereas it would just be icky to put a $2.00 .45 slug and splatter his brains on the sidewalk. Just icky.

Some “justice” system we have here.

NoDonkey on February 1, 2012 at 3:25 PM

It would be a real tragedy if one of the corrections officers on the protective custody detail were to “accidentally” place this gentleman with the general population for a few minutes.

Kataklysmic on February 1, 2012 at 3:38 PM

I hope he gets shot to death. He should not draw another breath on this planet.

MadisonConservative on February 1, 2012 at 3:48 PM

Is this the kind of man you want teaching your children…?

This is the kind of people that have been teaching your kids for the last few decades. Welcome to the liberal dream.

squint on February 1, 2012 at 4:23 PM

Adult pornography in Berndt’s house is thought to have inspired the bondage-type poses in which the children are depicted in the photos.

Butbutbut adult porn is…is NATURAL! and HEALTHY! and only PRUDES and PURITANS would ever object!!!!11!!

inviolet on February 1, 2012 at 4:37 PM

I hope he gets shot to death. He should not draw another breath on this planet.

MadisonConservative on February 1, 2012 at 3:48 PM

I certainly hope he never draws another free breath. And some father of one of those little girls might just give you your wish. I sure hope he’s got police protection.

Won’t do him much good in jail in any case. Convicts are not known to be kind to child molesters and child rapists.

inviolet on February 1, 2012 at 4:39 PM

Teachers union will defend him.

SAMinVA on February 1, 2012 at 4:54 PM

investigators are speculating that other victims may yet turn up.

The LAUSD fired him last year, if I remember the local morning news report correctly. He’d been teaching for 30 years.

Wonder how much his pension is?

malclave on February 1, 2012 at 5:02 PM

I hope he gets shot to death. He should not draw another breath on this planet.

MadisonConservative on February 1, 2012 at 3:48 PM

Shooting is too kind, unless you start by shooting him in the groin and letting him bleed out.

Sekhmet on February 1, 2012 at 6:05 PM

Several commenters have called this person “Sick”. I prefer to call him what he is – “Evil”.

I believe we could vastly reduce the number of child predators if the punishment fit the crime, i.e.:

Public castration with a dull, rusty saw shown on closed circuit television all over the world.

Sound bloodthirsty? Yes, it is, and justifiably so.

Turn MD Red on February 1, 2012 at 6:34 PM

Shooting is too kind, unless you start by shooting him in the groin and letting him bleed out.

Sekhmet on February 1, 2012 at 6:05 PM

See, with people like this, I’m more satisfied with their hasty shuffling off this mortal coil than their suffering. Suffering’s fun, but this person is a danger to humanity. Just destroy the monster.

MadisonConservative on February 1, 2012 at 6:59 PM

How does this happen in a school?

magicbeans on February 1, 2012 at 8:52 PM

He was just testing Arne Duncan’s new grade school curriculum.

HumpBot Salvation on February 1, 2012 at 9:41 PM

He still gets his pension.

GrrandpaCaligula on February 1, 2012 at 11:07 PM

I hope he gets shot to death. He should not draw another breath on this planet.

MadisonConservative on February 1, 2012 at 3:48 PM

MadCon, I don’t think I’ve ever agreed with anything I’ve seen you write, until now.

I sure hope he’s got police protection.

inviolet on February 1, 2012 at 4:39 PM

I sure hope he doesn’t.

Mr. Prodigy on February 2, 2012 at 12:09 AM