WTH is wrong with these people??? Teacher accused of abusing 23 elementary age kids

online.wsj.com...

LOS ANGELES—A longtime Los Angeles teacher was arrested on charges that he sexually molested nearly two dozen elementary-school children who were photographed bound, blindfolded and, in some cases, with a large cockroach crawling on them, authorities said Tuesday.

Mark Berndt, 61 years old, is accused of molesting the children, mostly girls aged seven to 10, in a school classroom from 2008 to 2010, investigators said. He was fired by the school board last year.

Seriously, how does things like this continue to happen? This isn't the only recent case of a teacher doing this either...

www.christianpost.com...

Kimberly Crain, a 47-year-old former third grade teacher, was booked into Pottawatomie County jail after investigators recovered deleted images from her phone showing the young girls in holiday-themed bras and panties, posing suggestively.

Crain is facing charges of manufacturing child pornography and performing lewd acts with a child, according to District Attorney Richard Smothermon. She is to be arraigned Friday and he plans to request $1 million bail.

How do these people get passed us? And why aren't the children telling someone sooner? It blows my mind that these predators can get away with this for any length of time without getting caught right away. And where are the Administration of these schools? In the second story, the teacher put coverings over the window of her class room. No one found stuff like that suspicious at the sschool?

The teacher in the first story has been teaching for 30 years. How many poor children has he victimized in that time?

My heart breaks for these kids. I hope that monsters like these never, ever see the outside of a prison again.

Do we need better screening for teachers?

I know this isn't where you want to go with this, but people just need to yank their kids out of "school".

Then educate them with useful knowledge. Such as self reliance. Gardening, so on.

Tell the government "which is solely responsible for endangering your children" to eff off and die slow.

Nothing corrupts like government enforced public schooling. No law will ever ensure that all the pervs will be caught.
Only removal of your children from the situation will save them.

i don't trust male elementary school teachers...

I might suggest an idea with how common this seems to be lately for catching the monsters. In a society that has gone absolutely nuts for cameras in every conceivable place, how about some Union people..and some School admin folk get told how things are GOING to be and accept the new reality. Install cameras in the class rooms. Either as a full time record to confidential disks for legal records...or actually for webcast to parents. If all is well and a Teacher has confidence in their skill and proper approach to the students, what is there to hide? For the bad ones...we'd see them resign or get fired in pretty short order.

I agree entirely that this is going much too far and becoming far too common for society to tolerate. Our most defenseless members cannot be abused like this while we have the means by technology to absolutely end it.

reply to post by Bobaganoosh


Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to home school there kids and public school is the only option available. The majority can't afford private schools either. It would be good of we could. I am sure the kids would be as educated as they are now coming out of public school on average.

oh, just read the article, throw that teacher to the wolves. I thought it was simple discipline.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I actually have thought of that and really like that idea. It's a public school so there is no expectation of privacy in the classroom. If my taxes have to pay for public schools, I want my kids to be safe. And your right, the technology is easily accessible and cheap. Although if the gov. are doing it, it won't be cheap.

reply to post by GAOTU789


I agree with you Gaotu. I really don't understand how nobody, I mean NOBODY,found that covering the windows in a class room would be strange. I mean for christ sake isn't anybody paying attention. As the for the first guy, 30 years as a teacher and they just find out he was abusing kids. Really!? I swear people in this world have just gone completely insane.

reply to post by GAOTU789


Dear GAOTU789,

Why do these people do it? Because they are pedophiles, pure and simple, they don't see anything wrong with it. I am in my early 50s and I won't date anyone under 40. As for why the kids don't tell anyone, multiple reasons. Some are ashamed, some are confused and unfortunately in today's society, many of the kids think it is okay and want to do it. They are victims; but, many are willing. We don't want to believe that but it is true. Think about the movie "American Pie" and the term MILF. Watch television and see how underage sex is glorified, consider the show (I think it was called) "Teen Mom" or something like that, some of those girls became mini-celebrities.

How many movies and shows include minors having sex? At the same time that these things are occurring, there are others calling for eliminating laws regarding Statutory Rape or sex with someone who is underage. This is also egged on by charging a 6 year old with sexual harassment during a game of tag. People hear that and get outraged, they say that children cannot be held accountable for such things (by the way, they shouldn't because they don't understand what they are doing at 6); but all of this continues and the reasoning gets lost. If you eliminate laws against statutory rape then does it matter what the age difference is? Some will say the problem is that they were teachers; but, even that is treated differently once you get in college and by graduate school it is not an issue. I had a female graduate professor that hit on me and it still felt uncomfortable at 25 (she was in her mid thirties).

The whole issue can become a slippery slope depending on our logic. Peace.

reply to post by GAOTU789


Dear GAOTU789,

It's a public school so there is no expectation of privacy in the classroom.

There is a problem with cameras in the room, it means raising our kids to believe that it is okay for them to be monitored 24/7 at which point they will lose all expectation of privacy. There must be better ways such as requiring the Principal to go to each room during the day for at least a moment or two. In a world where there is less and less privacy perhaps we should find ways to increase it while still protecting our children. Peace.

reply to post by AQuestion


Your not making sense to me, your saying the kids are victims but at the same time they ask to be tied up, blind folded and have a roach crawl on them, because they watch TV and think its acceptable?

Originally posted by AQuestion
reply to post by GAOTU789

 

There is a problem with cameras in the room, it means raising our kids to believe that it is okay for them to be monitored 24/7 at which point they will lose all expectation of privacy.

You're kidding right? In my city, every major intersection has cameras facing all 4 directions for public access and winter weather viewing. Ever place and store has cameras in clear evidence and my kid knows more about Facebook and other photo/video heavy social networking sites than I do. If adding one more camera means no more children are molested and see their childhood ripped from them so brutally, than I'm all for it.

I'd suggest a more striking lesson the kids would take from the cameras would be the accountability demanded of those who are entrusted with the care and safety of other people. It's all in perspective I guess..but put that way, it would be a positive lesson to my thinking.

reply to post by Quetzalcoatl12


No, they are victims because they don't understand what they are doing. Perhaps you forgot about that teacher that got pregnant by one of her students and put in jail, when she got out a few years later, they got married. What I am saying is that many kids today don't see sex at young ages as wrong. The two people mentioned in the OP is far from what we see, we are seeing this nationwide with an increase in instances. Many of the teachers are female as opposed to the old stereotype. What was that Van Halen song, "Hot for Teacher", I seem to recall that it and the video were big hits. If you really cannot understand a correlation between attitudes and actions then I don't know how to explain it much better.

reply to post by AQuestion


I do agree partially with just about everything you said. We have sexualized our children. It's been a trend that's been going on for a while now. TV, movies, music video's, etc...

I just don't buy though that are kids don't know that it is wrong. We teach them, at least I hope other parents do, what good touch/bad touch is. We teach them, at least I do mine, that she never ever has to be afraid to come to me about something that makes her feel uncomfortable. I do my best to try and keep an open dialogue going with her. I don't settle for a one sentence answer when I ask her how her day was at school or whatever she may have been doing. We talk all the time and I pray that if it ever happened to her, that she would feel comfortable enough to come to me right away.

As far as the cameras in the class room. No I don't agree it is conditioning them. It may not be the ideal solution but it would be a solution that could be built upon.

I recently had the idea of posing as a kid in chatrooms etc. and luring these bastards in. Play along, arrange a time to get together down in Port Melbourne, most likely at a park, wait and unleash an absolutely relentless assault knee on the chest k**e to the th***t and ask if they'll think twice next time.

Hopefully the story gets around and the rest of 'em are deterred...

Zero tolerance on this matter.

ETA: The penalty is too often, far too shy of what justice is. If the governments won't deal with it in a matter that deters this disgrace then who are they to condemn any vigilante action?

Anyone know who Chopper Read is? He's an Australian criminal, google Chopper Read, Paedophile, prison and see what you find

I believe he and his mate are responsible for paedophiles having their own blocks in Australian prisons..

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Dear Wrabbit2000,

You're kidding right? In my city, every major intersection has cameras facing all 4 directions for public access and winter weather viewing. Ever place and store has cameras in clear evidence and my kid knows more about Facebook and other photo/video heavy social networking sites than I do. If adding one more camera means no more children are molested and see their childhood ripped from them so brutally, than I'm all for it.

You assume that the teachers and students would not know about the cameras or that the teacher wouldn't be smart enough to take the child somewhere else to actually commit any acts. You say you have cameras on all your streets, has it stopped street crime? Nope. In London you are photographed 48,000 times a day, does that stop street crime? Nope.

reply to post by GAOTU789


Dear GAOTU789,

I just don't buy though that are kids don't know that it is wrong. We teach them, at least I hope other parents do, what good touch/bad touch is. We teach them, at least I do mine, that she never ever has to be afraid to come to me about something that makes her feel uncomfortable. I do my best to try and keep an open dialogue going with her. I don't settle for a one sentence answer when I ask her how her day was at school or whatever she may have been doing. We talk all the time and I pray that if it ever happened to her, that she would feel comfortable enough to come to me right away.

Not long ago there were a couple of news stories about minor having sex in the classroom and on school buses, the other kids didn't even care and the stories did not come out until many days had passed. I am glad that you are raising your kids properly; but, it is less and less common. It is even more difficult because of the incredible rise in the number of underage and single mothers. It is sort of hard to convince your child that underage sex is wrong when you had your first child at 16 yourself.

Originally posted by AQuestion
reply to post by Wrabbit2000

 

Dear Wrabbit2000,

You're kidding right? In my city, every major intersection has cameras facing all 4 directions for public access and winter weather viewing. Ever place and store has cameras in clear evidence and my kid knows more about Facebook and other photo/video heavy social networking sites than I do. If adding one more camera means no more children are molested and see their childhood ripped from them so brutally, than I'm all for it.

You assume that the teachers and students would not know about the cameras or that the teacher wouldn't be smart enough to take the child somewhere else to actually commit any acts. You say you have cameras on all your streets, has it stopped street crime? Nope. In London you are photographed 48,000 times a day, does that stop street crime? Nope.

Actually.. I said we had cameras at the major intersections. The point being that cameras as a fact of life isn't new or different to the kids today. They wouldn't recognize a world without them at this point.

Hidden Camera? Oh no.... No hiding it. Stick it right there in the corner..or 2..and cover the room. I suppose they could hustle the kids off out of camera range..and that alone would ring alarm bells wouldn't it? As it is, they can obviously do this right in the classroom and not be terribly concerned about doing it. Cameras aren't a silver bullet to solve the whole thing. Of course not. They're a very good step toward a solution though.

reply to post by AQuestion


But Question, regardless of whether or not the kids understand, teachers should not touch, fondal or become sexually active with a child. As for the Mary Kay Letourneau case where she marries the kid later on, that's very rare.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Dear Wrabbit2000,

Hidden Camera? Oh no.... No hiding it. Stick it right there in the corner..or 2..and cover the room. I suppose they could hustle the kids off out of camera range..and that alone would ring alarm bells wouldn't it? As it is, they can obviously do this right in the classroom and not be terribly concerned about doing it. Cameras aren't a silver bullet to solve the whole thing. Of course not. They're a very good step toward a solution though.

Cameras would not stop it, they haven't been effective, they just move to where the cameras are not. If you go on MySpace you can find pictures of minors that they post themselves showing them in their underwear or bras. Kids post videos of them committing crimes. Cameras are not an answer because they don't work. Think about your assumptions, these teachers are not doing these acts while class is in session in front of all the other students.