Teacher Remains Jailed in Lieu of $23 Million Bail

A former South Los Angeles-area elementary school teacher who allegedly took photos of blindfolded and gagged students with semen-tainted cookies or spoons held to their mouths will remain jailed, with a judge Wednesday rejecting a bid to dramatically reduce his bail.

, 61, was being held in lieu of $23 million bail. The Torrance resident was arrested Jan. 30 and charged with 23 counts of committing a lewd act on a child between 2005 and 2011. The charges involve 23 children who were 7 to 10 years old.

Berndt's attorney, Victor Acevedo, asked a judge Wednesday to drop his client's bail to $1 million, calling $23 million excessive.

"That's the functional equivalent of no bail to probably everyone in the state of California ...," Acevedo said. "I would request the court to consider reducing the bail to $1 million in light of the fact that my client doesn't have a criminal record."

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Marcelita Haynes, however, rejected the request, noting that the alleged victims suffered trauma and some of the children "have experienced unspecified nightmares since the allegations have come to public attention."

Berndt is due back in court May 1, when a date will be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial.

A teacher at Telfair Elementary School in Pacoima, from Chatsworth, was arrested last fall and charged with 16 counts of sexual abuse of four children.

Additionally, Paul Adame, 37, a janitor at Germain Elementary School in Chatsworth, was arrested on suspicion of committing a lewd act, but the District Attorney’s office declined to file a case, pending further investigation.

Acevedo told reporters outside court that Berndt has received threats while behind bars, and he fears for his client's safety in jail.

"I am still concerned for his safety," he said. "He has been now moved ... to a different location within the county jail system, but even there he has been the subject of harassment by fellow inmates."

The investigation into Berndt began more than a year ago when a film processor turned over more than 40 photographs of children in a classroom with their eyes blindfolded and mouths covered in tape. Some pictures showed Berndt with his arm around the children or with his hand over their mouths, investigators said.

According to the Sheriff's Department, some of the photographs "depicted girls with what appeared to be a blue plastic spoon, filled with an unknown clear/white liquid substance, up to their mouths as if they were going to ingest the substance."

Authorities said there are also photos of children with a large live Madagascar-type cockroach on their faces and mouths.

Sheriff's officials said detectives found a blue plastic spoon and an empty container in a trash bin in Berndt's classroom. Both items tested positive for semen, and DNA testing matched it to Berndt, according to the Sheriff's Department.

Deputies also served a search warrant at Berndt's home, where they found more than 100 photos depicting children and similar to the batch of pictures initially turned over to authorities, according to sheriff's officials.

"Also recovered was a DVD of film depicting adult sexual bondage activity which mirrored the bondage-type photos of the children," according to the Sheriff's Department. "The adults in the bondage were not identified, and the images in that video are not a crime."

Berndt was removed from the classroom in January 2011 when the investigation began.

-- City News Service