Horrifying. Revolting. Stomach-turning. Scary.
These are the words Richmond parents are using to describe the details of a years-long pattern of alleged sexual abuse, which emerged after two teachers at Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles were arrested this week.
"You have to turn your eyes away from the computer screen," Julie Hallberg of Midlothian, who has two elementary-school aged sons, said Friday. "The idea that someone could think up something like that in the first place, much less actually do those things ... it makes you want to never let your children out of your sight again."
In Los Angeles, the arrests were the culmination of a yearlong investigation into allegations brought by current and former students of Mark Berndt, who "allegedly committed lewd acts with 23 children aged 6-10 between 2005 and 2010, which allegedly included feeding the students cookies with his semen on them and taking pictures of students blindfolded with cockroaches in their faces," according to ABC News.
The investigation also ensnared teacher Martin Springer, who was charged Tuesday with three counts of lewd acts with the same student, according to the Associated Press. Both men were almost immediately fired by the school board of the Los Angeles Unified School District -- Berndt in 2011 when the investigation began and Springer this week -- though a spokesman told ABC news that board policy gives Springer 30 days to appeal the decision. Berndt fought his dismissal and was ultimately paid by the district to drop his appeal, according to The Los Angeles Times.
The case wasn't the first for Miramonte, where a teacher's aide was convicted in 2003 of fondling three kindergarten girls. In a move some called controversial, LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy closed Miramonte on Tuesday and transferred all of the school's employees to a building not populated with students, where they underwent fingerprinting, background checks and interviews with administrators.
When the school re-opened on Thursday, Principal Dolores Palacio told CNN that each classroom was staffed with a teacher and a social worker, and that would not change in the forseeable future.
That resonated with Hallberg, who wondered how such a pattern of abuse could go on for so long without anyone knowing.
"Schools have doors with windows in them and they're always full of people," she said. "How did this happen without anyone else knowing about it?"
Attorneys for the victims allege that Berndt had at least one accomplice, who brought children into his room and left them there alone with him, according to ABC News, which also reported that that contention was still being investigated.
Officials at Chesterfield County's award-winning public schools, where Hallberg's children attend, reassured parents Friday that laws and policies from the state to the school board level are designed to keep their children safe while they're on school property.
"The safety of our students and staff is a top priority" CCPS Community Relations Director Tim Bullis said Friday. "That is why creating and sustaining a safe, supportive and nurturing learning environment remains a guiding principle for school division staff members, many of whom have or have had children enrolled in the school division. We have a moral commitment to serve children to the best of our abilities and take that responsibility seriously."
In terms of student safety while on campus, Bullis said the district does background checks on every public school employee at the time of official hiring. Any crimes against children would nullify the offer of employment.
"Whether full-time or part-time, permanent, or temporary, the school board shall require on its application for employment certification, one, that the applicant has not been convicted of a felony or any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or sexual abuse or rape of a child," Bullis quoted from board policy. "And two, whether the applicant has been convicted of a crime of moral turpitude. The School Board shall also require on its application for employment, as a condition of employment requiring direct contact with students, whether full-time or part-time, permanent, or temporary, certification that the applicant has not been the subject of a founded case of child abuse and neglect."
Once employed by any public school system in the state, Virginia law requires that a person convicted of a crime be reported to their employer.
"State law requires that police notify school divisions when an employee has been arrested on certain charges," Bullis said. "School division employees also have an obligation to self-report criminal arrests."
All of those safety checks give Bullis confidence that appropriate measures are being take to keep preadators out of the employ of Chesterfield County schools. Part of the laws governing sex offender registries prohibit registered offenders from being on school property, but Bullis said Chesterfield County has a high-tech system in place to ensure that.
"I think it's important to note that we have safety measures in place for visitors as well," Bullis said. "Each school is equipped with a Raptor alert system. Visitors are required to present a government-issued photo ID that is scanned and checked against a sex offender registry. If there is a match, State Police are notified."
For tips from Richmond city school officials on what to listen for when children talk about their day, and a list of possible "red flag" keywords, please click here.
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