Sex Abuse Teacher Pleads Not Guilty To Lewd Acts Against Children

Feb. 21 2012, Published 2:00 p.m. ET

By Debbie Emery - RadarOnline.com Reporter

The teacher at the heart of the school sex abuse scandal appeared in a Los Angeles court Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to 23 charges of lewd acts on students.

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Mark Berndt, a 61-year-old longtime teacher at Miramonte Elementary School in southeast Los Angeles, is accused of sexually abusing at least 23 male and female students during school hours, ranging from 6 to 10 years old, from 2008 until 2010.

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Berndt appeared at the Los Angeles Superior Court at 8.30 a.m. PST and was ordered by the judge to return for a preliminary hearing on March 28, while parents and alleged victims sat watching the proceedings.

High-profile attorney Gloria Allred was also present in the courtroom.

The shamed teacher, who worked at Miramonte for 30 years, remains in custody on $23 million bail, representing $1 million for every charge against him. His preliminary hearing was set for April 16.

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Berndt’s arrest set off a trigger of events at the school including all the staff from the principal to the custodians being replaced by new staff, along with a psychiatric social worker in every classroom to help students cope with any issues.

A second Miramonte teacher, Martin Springer, was charged with three counts of abuse on a single student earlier this month and he too pleaded not guilty, last Thursday and was released on $300,000 bail on condition that he wear a court-ordered ankle monitoring device, reported CNN.com.