Berndt, who worked at the school for 32 years, remains jailed on $23 million bail and could ce life in prison if convicted.
The furor led to two parents coming forward Thursday to complain that teacher Martin Springer, 49 who had worked at the school for 26 years, fondled two second-grade girls in his classroom.
Associated Press writer Robert Jablon contributed to this report.
This is not being very well received, Escutia said. Some kids have established close relationships with their teachers.
Police have set forth no connection between the cases, but parents confidence has been badly shaken.
In the latest allegations to come to light, the teachers aide wrote a letter signing herself sad girl because she was being transferred to another school, the mother alleged.
Berndt taught at Miramonte Elementary School, where the entire staff was replaced this week amid outrage from parents.
Ivis Urbina, right, with her granddaughter Alexa Agillon, 6, protest with others outside Miramonte Elementary school in Los Angeles Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. About three dozen parents and supporters staged... (Associated Press)
Deasy said the new staff members are being vigorously screened for any previous complaints against them. Each of the approximately 90 teachers will be accompanied in class by a psychiatric social worker to address possible issues caused by the scandal and the midyear disruption.
The districts investigation, which will be handled by an independent commission led by retired California Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Moreno, will include interviewing past students and staff at Miramonte.
Los Angeles County Sheriffs deputies stand outside Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. About three dozen parents and supporters staged a protest at the Los Angeles-area school... (Associated Press)
I think we need to do everything we can to make sure these kids, these students and their milies, get the help that they need and to get to the bottom of how this happened, he said.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. APs earlier story is below.
School abuse expert Mary Jo McGrath, an attorney who has conducted some 350 abuse investigations, said the investigation could uncover more cases.
Replacing teaching staffs at schools has been done in LAUSD and other schools, but in cases of chronically low academic performance. Teachers usually must reapply for their jobs, and the turnover does not also extend to support staff.
Investigators said they know of no connection between the men. Berndt and Springer took their classes on at least two joint field trips in the past decade, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Dalia Gutierrez wears the coat of her attorney, Luis Carrillo, not shown, before announcing a claim for alleged abuse suffered by her daughter at Miramonte Elementary school in Los Angeles Monday, Feb.... (Associated Press)
Berndt is charged with committing lewd acts on children, ages 6 to 10, between 2005 and 2010. The alleged acts include blindfolding children, feeding them semen, taping their mouths, and photographing them in a game.
The mother of the fourth-grader told the Los Angeles Times ( that the aide, a woman the mother appeared to be in her 50s, sent at least three letters to her son in 2009, including one that read: when you get close to me, even if you give me the chills I like that. Dont tell nobody about this!
FILE - TO GO WITH ABUSOS COMUNIDAD - In this undated police booking photo released by the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department shows former Los Angeles teacher Mark Berndt, 61, who was arrested for felony... (Associated Press)
Sheriffs Lt. Carlos Marquez tells The Associated Press on Wednesday the photos were found late last week at the same pharmacy where a photo lab technician had noticed the odd pictures. The recent discovery places the total number of photos to roughly 600.
The allegations come as school district administrators move to replace the entire staff at Miramonte Elementary School as the Los Angeles Unified School District investigates two veteran teachers arrested last week.
All 120 staff members at Miramonte will be replaced as of Thursday after a two-day school shutdown as part of Los Angeles Unified School Districts investigation into the two veteran teachers arrested last week.
The cost of the plan has not yet been determined, but Deasy said he was sparing no expense to understand how the abuse occurred over some years and no one reported it.
Springer pleaded not guilty Tuesday after he was charged with committing lewd acts upon one girl in 2009. Bail was set at $300,000.
The aide no longer works for the school system, district spokeswoman Gayle Pollard-Terry said.
Face it: theres too much news.At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for somethingInvestigators find additional 200 photos in Calif teacher abuse case pictures for schools new that matters.Read less, know more.
Mark Berndt, 61, is charged with committing lewd acts on children, ages 6 to 10, between pictures for schools2005 and 2010. The alleged acts include blindfolding children, feeding them semen, taping their mouths, and photographing them in a game.
Parents bring their children to school as others protest outside Miramonte Elementary school in Los Angeles Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. About three dozen parents and supporters staged a protest at the Los Angeles-area... (Associated Press)
Officials at an elementary school rocked by teacher abuse claims are investigating yet another allegation of misconduct, this one involving a teachers aide accused of sending love letters to an 11-year-old boy.
Investigators find additional 200 photos in Calif teacher abuse case pictures for schools,
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he supported Deasys decision to replace the staff.
Yolanda Sanchez talks about what she describes as documented child abuse of her son, outside the Miramonte Elementary school in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. About three dozen parents and supporters... (Associated Press)
The move to replace the entire has been met with mixed feelings.
Its the most severe action Ive seen taken by a school district, said Terri Miller, president of Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct and Exploitation, an advocacy organization based in Las Vegas.
Mother Maria Jimenez said some parents would at least like to have been notified that this was being considered as many feel its drastic. They did this without advising us or consulting us, she said.
Some parents applauded the decision, but others protested the move and circulated a petition calling for the staff at the school to be reinstated.
Los Angeles County investigators say they have found an additional 200 photos allegedly taken by a former teacher accused of committing lewd acts on 23 children over a five-year period.
With portraits of school children behind him, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy takes his seat following a closed-door meeting of the Board of Education in downtown Los Angeles... (Associated Press)
Its unclear whether any staffers will return to Miramonte. On Tuesday, they were packing up their classroom belongings to head to a nearby newly constructed school that is unoccupied, district spokesman Tom Waldman said.
The decision Monday came after about three dozen people protested in front of the main doors of the school earlier in the day, some carrying a banner that read, We the parents demand our children be protected from lewd teacher acts. It also followed a march later in the day, in which 100 angry parents marched from the elementary school to the nearby administrators meeting.
Springer pleaded not guilty Tuesday after he was charged with committing lewd acts upon one girl in 2009. Bail was set at $300,000.
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Berndt was fired in January 2011 after the district learned of a sheriffs department probe. He appealed and resigned six months later.
Its not a witch hunt, its just that someone is really looking, she said. Cases start unpeeling like an onion. Its always the same pattern.
The mother went to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, which directed her to the school. During a meeting that included the mother, her son, his teacher and an assistant principal, the teachers aide acknowledged writing letters and said she had a grandmotherly affection for the boy.
Los Angeles Unified School District board president Monica Garcia makes a statement following a closed-door meeting of the Board of Education in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012. Prosecutors... (Associated Press)
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy takes his seat following a closed-door meeting of the Board of Education in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012. Prosecutors have filed... (Associated Press)
Parents on Monday night handed Superintendent John Deasy a petition with 400 signatures calling for open doors and allowing parents to observe classrooms and act as hall monitors.
But they did not want good teachers removed, said Martha Escutia, a lawyer and former state senator who is helping parents to organize a group named Mothers of Miramonte.
The new principal will be a retired principal, while the rest of the new staffers, including some 90 teachers, are former district personnel who were laid off due to budget cuts in recent years, the district said.
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The school board on Tuesday voted unanimously to fire Springer. He has 30 days to file an appeal.
Miramontes old staff will continue being paid and will be housed at an undisclosed location at least until August while each person is thoroughly interviewed, Deasy said.
Mark Berndt has been charged with lewd acts on children, ages 6 to 10 and some of the photos show children blindfolded, their mouths taped and being fed a milky, white liquid authorities believe was semen.