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Mark Berndt, L.A. Teacher Accused of Horrific Sex Crimes, Still Being Paid More Than $3,800 a Month -- Report

Categories: WTF

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Mark Berndt, the 63-year-old former teacher accused of horrific crimes against children at a South Los Angeles elementary school, is actually enjoying a $3,800-a-month-plus pension that you couldn't take away from him even if he was put away for life.

It's true.

The revelation came last night after the California State Teachers' Retirement System issued the following statement:


The law provides that members' earned benefits cannot be taken away due to a criminal conviction ...

In fact, Berndt has been arrested and charged with 23 counts of committing a lewd act on a child involving 23 children. Even if he's convicted (he's presumed innocent until proven otherwise), his cushy teachers' union contract provides nearly $3,900 a month.

That aspect of the story was broken last night by Fox 11 News (no story or video was available on its awesome site).

It was initially reported that Berndt, who allegedly took photos of children in gross, sexualized contexts, was fired in March after Sheriff's investigators had been looking at him dating back to a year ago.

But Fox 11 News reported he "retired" last summer, perhaps in a preemptive move, as Berndt was under the watchful eye of detectives.

The teacher at Miramonte Elementary School in South L.A. was found out after a photo lab technician turned him in for allegedly trying to develop horrific pictures of some of his third-graders.

LA Weekly's Simone Wilson describes the core of the allegations against him:

He allegedly let cockroaches crawl on their faces and spoon-fed them his own semen. Investigators say they confiscated over 400 photos of the in-class "sex game," which they believe recurred over a two-year period (from 2008 to 2010).

He was being held in lieu of $2.3 million bail.

This story of how to extract an alleged problem teacher from the Los Angeles Unified School District will get people talking again about the almost-impossible-to-fire-educators rules in place for public school instructors.

Can you say "outrage"?

[Added]: Check out our story from 2010 about how "Grim Sleeper" serial murder suspect Lonnie Franklin Jr. also collected a healthy pension and had already grabbed more than $300,000 of taxpayer money via disability pension checks (he was a onetime city worker) by the time he was charged.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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21 comments
Guest
Guest

That's liberals for you!

jb
jb

The pension would have been paid by the teacherover the years and the healthcare is not free... its cost is taken out of the earned pension.  If Mark Berndt was put away for life.  If he dies in prison.. his beneficiary will get the money until that person dies.

Christopher Neal
Christopher Neal

Teachers are the biggest losers in society. Damn liberals. 

Teacher
Teacher

     I would be the first one to assure you that after five minutes alone with this guy.....he would be eating hospital food through a straw....then....I'd turn him loose to his victims families.     That said.....your statement is utter BS.  As a dedicated teacher for thirty years, it was the most demanding and rewarding experience anyone could love.....the factory and landscaping jobs I worked at to get through college were a boat ride in comparison.  I taught first grade for thirty years and spent as much time out of the classroom in preparation as I did teaching.  Families had an open invitation every EVENING to visit me in the classroom so their work schedules wouldn't be affected.  You can thank me that there are 900 + adults I taught to READ (a small part of the total curriculum) who for that reason are working, productive contributing, members of society and possibly the cops, doctors, firemen and tradespeople  who have helped you.....and upon that you can't begin to apply a dollar value.     Go volunteer for a week in an elementary classroom in your community.....I guarantee your opinion, which is obviously rests on non basis of fact or experience, will be different.

Teacher
Teacher

Yes.....an error in grammar.....thanks to coffee and the heat of the moment.......eliminate the "is" in the last sentence................. 

Roy
Roy

Mÿ röömâtë's stëp-âüñt mâkës $38/hr öñ thë cömpütër. Shë hâs bëëñ öüt öf â jöb för 10 möñths büt lâst möñth hër pâÿ wâs $1769 jüst wörkiñg öñ thë cömpütër för â fëw höürs. Rëâd mörë öñ this sitë.... LazyCash10.c­om

Compicated
Compicated

If the guy did what they say he did, by all means, lock him up and throw away the key. The issue of pensions, however, is more complicated then the article makes out. Pensions are part of compensation, think of it as "ok, instead of paying me $100,000, only pay me $80,000, but put $15,000 a year aside into my pension plan." Corps. like it because it costs them less per year, and employees like it because of the security. Lets say instead he was paid $100,000 and put $15,000 on his own away into an IRA which was throwing of $3,800 per month in interest income. Should be arrested mean that you lose the interest income or money that is in the bank? The only reform that this really calls out for is that victims should be able to sue to collect pension benefits, just like they can go after any other asset.

Jason Leman
Jason Leman

he shouldnt get that money, he was FIRED according to the story.  he is attempting to game the system and the retirement board bought it.  I think this needs to be investigated

aryelle
aryelle

my buddy's step-mother makes $79/hr on the internet. She has been without a job for 5 months but last month her pay was $8550 just working on the internet for a few hours. Go to this site.....http://zapit.nu/1rp

aryelle
aryelle

my buddy makes $64 hourly on the computer. She has been láid off for 5 months but last month her páy was $7785 just working on the computer for á few hours. Go here.. MakeCásh13.çøm

Fahr Out
Fahr Out

soooo many things California needs to change, this being only one of them.  smdh...

Tresatwins
Tresatwins

I have a few problems with this . One is any money he gets should be given to the victims to pay for the therapy they need just to get on with their lives . Two , I live in Wisc. where Walker over stepped his bounds and tried to take about bargaining rights of workers. The first group to step up and complain were the teachers . That's when they lost me. This is why $3,900 in benefits. What the heck are they crying about. This man needs to rot in hell and these teachers with Christmas ,Easter ,Weekends and Summers off need to stop crying. 

Adjunct
Adjunct

This sicko should, without a doubt, lose all rights to his pension.  No question. But I am not sure how you spent your summer....I teach.  I spent mine working two part time jobs, picking up extra work when I could and mostly planning my fall semester....while not being paid for the school work.  I spend my six weeks off in the winter reading and preparing for the spring semester....while not getting paid.  I am paid for the exact amount of time I am physically IN the classroom.  I am paid less than 500 a month for one class.  I spend AT LEAST 3 times the amount of in class time OUTSIDE of class preparing for said class.  Essentially I am losing money.  An adjunct faculty member I have no health benefits, no job security and no say in anything that goes on.  Do you think we spend our summers in Tahiti or something?  Where do people get this notion that teachers are lazy people sucking off the teet of society?  We are teaching your children at a financial loss to ourselves for crying out loud.  This man aside, a 3900/month pension after teaching for 35 years is less than $50,000 a year.  You live on that with a family and tell me how you do.

Formerk-12teacher
Formerk-12teacher

$50k a year is plenty for one person to make in retirement. And most people aren't raising a family when they're in retirement age and have worked for 35 years already. And if they are, hopefully they've put aside money for that purpose over the 35 years they've worked. Teachers in CA k-12 public schools do get benefits and work on salary and have fairly decent job security, especially after earning some seniority. An adjunct teacher having trouble supporting him or herself could certainly consider changing fields and earning a credential and working in the k-12 public school system, if what they earn as an adjunct amounts to working "at a financial loss."

Christopher Neal
Christopher Neal

Students who get stuck with an adjunct professor should go to the admissions office and ask for the "adjunct rate" for tuition; they should get a discount. Losers.

Ram042180
Ram042180

You sound like all the other zombie union idiots....teachers in California are the highest paid in Cailifornia with rediculous benefits. Yet California has the second worst test scores in the country so our money is going to waste. Second this pervert can not have his penion taken away and there are countless stories of teachers who are bad teachers and still collecting payckecks while sitting in a downtown office doing NOTHING!!! Stop crying you union hack and realize 18 out of every 100 Californians are out of work and would kill for your job the ob you seem to hate but love to collect from!!!!

Ma_at_law
Ma_at_law

If you're a teacher, you should know the word is "teat", not "teet". 

BGThree
BGThree

Private sector workers are suckers.  Get a unionized government job and latch onto the teet of the state treasury for life.  It's the new American way!

JamesWallace1
JamesWallace1

my neighbor's step-mother's base pay is $80/HR 0n the c0mputer .She has been out of work for 5 months but last month her paycheck was $7597 just working on the laptop for a few hours. Here's the site to read more,

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