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Miramonte Parents to File Lawsuit Against LAUSD
In the wake of a sex abuse scandal that included students being fed cookies with semen on them, 14 parents of students who attended Miramonte Elementary School are suing the LA Unified School District, reports KTLA.
The suit alleges negligence on the part of the district, and claims that officials ignored warnings about teachers Mark Berndt. Berndt was arrested in February for allegedly blindfolding students, feeding them his semen and putting cockroaches on their faces, and photographing the whole thing.
When the story broke, former students of Berdnt's said that they had reported as long ago as 1991 that they had concerns about his behavior -- including frequently putting his hands on his lap under his desk and keeping a jar of Vaseline in his desk -- but that they were told to stop making up stories.
Berndt is now being charged with 23 counts of lewd conduct and is being held on $23 million bail.
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