A second teacher at a Los Angeles elementary school has been arrested in connection with sex abuse allegations, the Associated Press reports, quoting sheriff’s department officials. The first teacher was arrested this week and charged with photographing children for sexual thrills. The teacher was removed from Miramonte Elementary School after someone made accusations against him, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy tells KTTV-TV. He declined to provide details but said the district had notified law enforcement investigators, the AP says. “We have some information and we are currently investigating that,” but the teacher has not been arrested or charged with any crime, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Carlos Marquez says. Third-grade teacher Mark Berndt, who worked at the school for 30 years, was charged with committing lewd acts on 23 children, ages 6 to 10, between 2005 and 2010. He is in jail on $23 million bail and could face life in prison if convicted.
The development involving the second teacher was made public a day after authorities acknowledged that 18 years ago a 10-year-old girl claimed Berndt tried to fondle her.Prosecutors declined to file charges against Berndt in the 1993 report, saying they didn’t have enough evidence, the AP reports.The details of that case and other claims by two former students about strange behavior by Berndt surfaced three days after his arrest.
