Accused "Tasting Game" Teacher Called Out as Molester in Jail, His Lawyer Blames the Sheriff's Department

Photo of Mark Berndt courtesy of L.A. Sheriff's Department

Mark Berndt, the ousted Miramonte Elementary School teacher accused of performing lewd acts on 23 children, pleaded not guilty today on all charges. Outside the court today, Berndt's court-appointed attorney, Victor Acevedo, told reporters his client is being harassed in jail, and the Sheriff's Department is to blame.

Acevedo said he was told that a member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department used the loudspeaker at the Twin Towers jail to announce Berndt's presence in the facility "to identify him as a child molester to other inmates," according to City News Service.

Consequently, claims Acevedo, Berndt has been threatened and harassed.

Berndt, 61, was arrested last month following a year-long investigation of allegations he involved his young students in something he called the "Tasting Game" in which he blindfolded the children and spoon-fed them samples of his own semen, among other lewd acts.

Acevedo clarifies that Berndt's exact location within the jail was not announced, however he maintains, if authorities did make such an announcement, doing so "essentially put a bull's eye on [Berndt's] head, so to speak."

A spokesman for the LASD said this was news to them, but upon hearing Acevedo's remarks, they launched an investigation of his allegations.

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By Lindsay William-Ross in News on February 21, 2012 2:30 PM

Comments [rss]

Tara Johnson

wah

MTkill_a_manJaro

So doesnt this just mean he'll be placed in protective custody away from the general population? Im rusty on my intro to criminal justice (its been almost 10 years) but i thought if you're in prison and youre clearly targeted for murder, you could be placed in PC and isolated from the murderous herd. Im pretty sure his lawyer, being obviously upset at this, will keep him safely locked away from the others.

And if thats the case (barring any dramatic, movie-esque 'what-if?' situations where assassins from a prison gang sneak into his isolated cell and kill him) he'll be safe enough to live and stand trial....so what's the problem?

Now, im probably just an optimist, but i have enough faith that if he's guilty he'll be convicted and punished. And if he's innocent (or "gets away with it") he'll be such a social pariah, his life will never be ok again. And that should serve as a silver lining for the people who have already condemned him to the darkest circle of hell.

But one has to wonder how the hell he's gonna explain away the semen-like substance in the spoons if he's innocent,,,,and if it wasnt semen, why was his actual semen found in the classroom?

Thomas

You're all fucked in the head. The Constitution guarantees you get a fair trial. Innocent until proven guilty. The justice system is set up that way for very good reasons, which history will plainly show to anyone who bothers to look.

When proven guilty, the court will issue a sentence, which is the *sole punishment* due.

That means, police don't get to decide who's guilty or what punishment they'll receive, neither do guards, or fellow inmates. All of this wink-wink nudge-nudge bullshit about "prison justice" is tacit support of judicial anarchy and further crimes, all of which should be prosecuted with the same vigor as the original crime.

bluecanary1

Him being called out in jail as a child molesting pervert doesn't have anything to do with whether or not he will get a fair trial. He's innocent until proven guilty in the eyes of the law, but the charges against him are public record. The police aren't deciding who's guilty or what punishment this person will receive, they just stated what crimes this guy was charged with. The Constitution does not require that the police keep his dirty secrets.

Thomas

Nudge nudge, wink wink.

Thomas F.X. Sullivan

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

Jon Hughes

Guilty until proven guilty?

Everyone deserves a fair trial and to not allow him the same rights is barbaric. I'm not saying he isn't guilty. By all accounts, he does seem to be guilty. But guess what?? This hasn't been proven yet in a court of law. Soooooooooo, how about he get his trial, then you can announce his name on the loud speaker?

I'm not trying to be overly political here, but these laws are in place for a reason.

bluecanary1

There's no law that I know of requiring police to keep secret what is a matter of public record.

zee

youre right. but until then, i'm glad the other prisoners are giving him some "justice", with their fists, or whatever.

Paul

I've been counting on it, but the police shouldn't be the one to out him.

His cellmate should.

Lacey

Who cares about his best interest? The fact that he was an authority over children and grossly took advantage of them, I say kudos to the sherrif's department!