Do you want to show any evidence that he was protected by the NEA or AFT? Or is this just a sad attempt to inject your one-sided agenda into a tragedy?

A teacher charged with 23 counts of lewd conduct in his classroom successfully thwarted attempts by the Los Angeles Unified School District to fire him.

In the process, the teacher, who is accused of spoon-feeding his semen to blindfolded children, managed to retain lifetime health-benefits provided by the nation's second-largest school system.

Have a problem with teachers abusing students? blame the public service workers UNION

Former Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt also automatically receives nearly $4,000 a month in pension from the California State Teachers' Retirement System.

The union can't save them. I just hope the cops don't screw up in the investigation and in come the ACLU. I understand they're purpose in protecting people's Constitutional rights and appreciate that they exist, but I hope there's no reason for them to be involved. Collect the testimony and evidence with due caution.

This is much much much worse then what has been reported so far. The teacher's Union is going along with the replacement of 150 Teachers? It is much much much worse.

That's how it goes D Buck. Liberals' can't have you getting in the way of their sad attempts to inject a one-sided agenda into a tragedy.

A teacher charged with 23 counts of lewd conduct in his classroom successfully thwarted attempts by the Los Angeles Unified School District to fire him.

Sounds just like how the liberals bashed the Catholic church for cover up. I wonder if the left will get their ire up as much at the "great public schools". I doubt it.

The teachers union will definitely NOT "protect" these people and I would assume that once convicted, they will lose their benefits except for the money they have contributed themselves. And remember, since we're in America, they're considered innocent till proven guilty. I find it very hard to believe that all this went on right under the noses of administrators and anyone else who was regularlarly around. Also, how many kids complained to their parents or other school personnel and were brushed off? Really people, some of this stuff is so bizarre that a child could not have made it up. Very sad.

put the blame were it belongs. school unions have made it to hard to get rid of these teachers.

Susi-Oh they will,,,Oh they will.

That's an ignorant comment. I expect more from a Navy Vet.

Navy Vet 90-95

As a proud member of the "left" I am appalled by any and ALL child abuse.

There is, however, an extra twist of irony when that abuse is perpetrated at religious institutions where a particular version of "morality" is being preached - and ignored by those doing the preaching.

CJ-639134

As a proud member of the "left" I am appalled by any and ALL child abuse.

There is, however, an extra twist of irony when that abuse is perpetrated at religious institutions where a particular version of "morality" is being preached - and ignored by those doing the preaching.

What a silly argument. Child abuse is child abuse. It doesn't matter what kind of institution it is occuring at.

Don't you love it when snobby athiests act as if they're somehow less guilty of crimes against humanity simply because they don't aspire to live by a specific moral code? I guess the moral of the story is that we shouldn't be surprised when they do commit such crimes.

Catholics are not more guilty of these crimes Dunkin, and child abuse is horrible no matter who does it. What makes it a little different when it comes to catholic institutions is the appalling hypocrisy. The catholic church moralizes about people's sex lives and criticizes people for their sexual behaviours that they smugly deem inappropriate or immoral, while shielding and protecting abusive members, even moving priests around to avoid prosecution when they KNOW they are RAPING children. The hypocrisy is incredible. If you want to hold yourself up as a shining example of moral righteousness you better walk the walk, and if someone in your group shatters your own moral code in the worst way possible, you definitely should not stand behind them and try to cover up their acts. You should WANT to expose them and rid yourself of them immediately.

it doesnt matter what your profession is. there are good and bad people. it does matter more how one was raised, and what kind of exsample you want give the world once one reaches adulthood. some people are just that some people. they do not make up any 1 group, race, gender, or anything. some want to blame churches, or other, because thats just how hypocritical they are not to look past the hand they keep over their own eyes.

How did this get to be about religion? The issue is that people who work in a profession where they are trusted and trained to deal with our most vulnerable are abusing the privilege. There is no statistic to support that it happends more in the Catholic environment than a secular environment. A scandal is a scandal, whether Catholic or at Penn State--both are huge and shameful. This is no less.

The school has a problem in regards to the fact that this occurred in the classroom. One has to wonder how no one noticed--most classrooms have windows in the doors. Most kids repeat anything that is out of the norm. Someone in one of his classes said something and was ignored. I would not be surprised if it comes out that a parent complained and was ignored as being emotional. That could be the basis for the suspension of the staff. They know they have a huge scandal and are trying to identify all areas of the problem, as they should.

CJ-639134:

Classic liberal reaction - you just can't bring yourself to admit that your policies are flawed but instead have to throw up a smokescreen by referencing some other party to make yourself feel better...sad.

The "left" must be very proud to have a person such as yourself leading the charge.

happy; CJ happens to be right.

See the point you all are missing is that we are all "bad" we are all sinners. Why would it surprise anyone that sinners are drawn to places where their sin is most prevalent. Be it a church or a school.

There are no good people, i would be willing to bet that everyone on here that critizies anyone else has done the following recently.

• Lied
• yelled at someone (committed murder in their hearts)
• looked at another person with lust (adultery in the eyes of Jesus)
• and many more things.

You are all missing the point. Humans (all of us) are hypocrites by nature. Everyone on here wants to weigh their sin against another's. That is just stupid.

We need justice when this happens not blame. We need compassion for the person committing the crime. As they are a SCREWED up individual. We are all redeemable. We need empathy for the victims. They will need a ton of help over the years.

I would be willing to bet that NONE of you take the step to help out these kids no matter how high an mighty you act.

DunkinH

Don't you love it when snobby athiests act as if they're somehow less guilty of crimes against humanity simply because they don't aspire to live by a specific moral code? I guess the moral of the story is that we shouldn't be surprised when they do commit such crimes.

The major difference between atheists and religious folks has nothing to do with morals. Atheists do not believe in events that violate the laws of nature and atheists are willing be ethical and moral without the threat of eternity in Hell or being denied eternity in heaven. Why must one be threatened in order to do what is right? Why is it necessary to believe that which is impossible in order for closed-minded folks like you to believe that we are not threats to society?

Susi-Oh - The teachers union will definitely NOT "protect" these people

That is the point, who do you think initially provided them Lawyers (HINT: Teachers Union).

D Buck-2239568 - What gives its not even a Catholic school!

What made the Catholic School problem so bad, as this was against Christianity. Those not practicing what they preached. As a bunch of Hypocrites, including those that attempted Cover ups.

What makes this so ridiculous for the Liberals is this is the behavior that they condone by eliminating these "Thou Shall Nots", Religion, aka Morality out of US Law. No Heaven, No Hell.

As before Christianity, all of this "Lewd" behavior, Child Molestation, Wife Beatings, etc. were all perfectly fine for the Atheists; as children, wives, slaves and their families (including children), etc. were Property. And before any of you argue, just go look up the meanings of even words like "Morality" (Mores), "Ethics" (Ethos), as to where they originated from in relation to the current and previous US Laws.

Example: One of the most famous Atheists was Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, aka "The Ends Justify the Means" (you can do anything you want as long as you obtain what you want) as there is no God to fear, there is no Devil.

Then there are those that want to rewrite the Evil abuses of Christianity to form the United States of America, which was Founded on Christian Values. Evil examples: Going all the way back to the Christian Spanish Conquistadors in their Quest for the Cities of Gold wiping out the Incas, Aztecs, and forbidding the Mayans from practicing their Culture (why they stopped making their Almanacs, NOT just Calendars, that 12,2012 thing.), with many of the Spanish Conquistadors settling at the Americas and inbreeding with the locals and eventually becoming the "Mexicans". The "American Colonists" use of "God Given Manifest Destiny" as justifications to wipe out the "Indians" (Native Americans) and take their Lands. "The Church" during the "Middle Ages" being a corrupt entity that wanted to maintain their Power, as mocked and documented by Alexandre Dumas's"Three Musketeers". Use of the various Spanish Inquisitions, Witch Trials, etc. to either seize property and lands, political purposes, or to create fear into the lives of everyone (show the power of the Church).

Good examples: Due Process and US Laws based on the 10 Commandments (that originated from the Hammurabi Code (Laws)). The Puritans (Radical Protestants, pro Reforms (against the corruptions) of the Church) escaping prosecution at Europe to the American Colonies, creation of the "Protestant Work Ethic", no longer believing the "Divine Right of Kings" ( a form of separation of Governance and the Church (Religion)).

Something that must be reinstated in All US Taxpayer Paid Public Schools, regardless of Illegal Alien Advocacy Groups Oppositions to Loyal Citizens of Another Nation Pledging Alliengence to the United States of America, as against the Laws of the other Nation (not US) that they are Loyal Citizens of:

As a mandatory part of the current United States of America US Citizenship Process, Naturalization, to denounce the Citizenship of another Nation (Loyality to the interests of another Nation):

Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

This enables the US to prosecute people living within the US for Treason, as without a witnessed verbal or written sworn or affirmed Oath of Allegiance as a verbal or written Contract (Trust) to the United States of America, it is NOT Treason for Loyal Citizens of Another Nation to commit Acts against the United States of America. All this was previously brought up during the dark days of the McCarthy Era. And to all those that still want to rewrite History that the United States of America were not created based on "Christian Values" there is another example of "God" (of the various Christian Groups), the other surviving written proof are the American Colonist's "Compacts" (Contracts with other Nations) to form the Colonies at the "Americas".

What's up with all the nonsense comments about the left supporting this? Who exactly on the left is anything but appalled by this situation? I'm a liberal and I find this disgusting. I see no evidence that the NEA is supporting these criminals, so where did that come from? It's equally appalling when it happens in the Catholic church. The point several people have been making is that the Catholic church has been guilty of not dealing with these crimes, and not punishing those who commit them; rather, they just move them to another parish where they then commit the same crimes on more victims. And that in itself is also a crime, and utterly hypocritical. Where is the evidence that the NEA has moved these teachers from school to school? Where is your evidence the NEA is defending them?

@david -475776, I don't have time to delve into all your nonsensical drivel, other than to point out that several founding fathers were agnostic, and to give you a little history lesson on the Pledge of Allegiance. It was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy. When Congress formally adopted it in 1942, these were the words: ""I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all." See, no mention of God. God got inserted in 1954, some 62 years after it was written. You see, the Pledge has only had God included in it for 58 of its 110-year history.

Rick-in-SD,

Nice try as you being a Failure of the Broken US Education System.

Like I stated before go read the "American Colonists" Compacts (Contracts) with the other Nations and all other Legal Precedents before the Pledge of Allegiance which by the way the Pledge of Allegiance is STILL a LEGAL Sworn or Affirmed Oath of Loyalty to the United States of America.

So argue from being uninformed, as a Failure of the US Education System (that does not teach the basic survival skill of cognitive reasoning anymore; but, emphases at US Taxpayer Costs, acceptance of Illegal Activities).

The Unanimous Declaration
of the Thirteen United States of America - the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them

SURE ALL THESE FOUNDING FATHERS WERE "AGNOSTICS" (You are full of Feces):

New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

david

You are being completely unfair in your charges against the teachers' union. Providing a lawyer is part of the union's obligation to union members and is done without judgement of guilt or innocence. Our judicial system presumes innocence until proven guilty. However, the teachers' union is cooperating fully with the investigation and will not stand in the way of a fair trial. If these charges are upheld the union will be relieved to be rid of the guilty parties.

don97524 - Our judicial system presumes innocence until proven guilty.

The Experience of the Real World Life or Death School of Hard Knocks versus your Academic Idealistic Disneyland is proven by then Speaker of the House, (US Law Maker) Nancy Pelosi's, "All those returning from the Wars must be considered as potential Homegrown Domestic Terrorists".

And as far as the Union Collective Bargaining leading to the Firing of All Teachers at a location, the Legal Precedent has already been set.

don97524 - However, the teachers' union is cooperating fully with the investigation and will not stand in the way of a fair trial. If these charges are upheld the union will be relieved to be rid of the guilty parties.

Really, have you ever been a Teacher, Law Enforcement, etc.. Your post indicates that you NEVER have, because you ASSUME that the Union(s) are cooperating fully with the investigation, as I have actually seen the Unions go either way even if completely innocent or completely guilty either fully cooperate (especially if it is to get rid of someone that they do not like) or completely obstruct (do everything possible including Violent "Union Tactics" to retain a Union Member(s)); so do not tell me Politics, Personalities, "Human Factors", etc. do NOT get involved.

Rick-in-SD,

By the way if you really want to rewrite History do it the Right way by eliminating all the "Christian" Names from the History Books, Congressional Records, etc.; as well as any Records of their Indoctrinations (Baptisms, Confirmations, etc.) into "Christian" Churches. If you honestly believe that "Christian" Names had nothing to do with anything during those times, think what would happen to your arse if your name was Baal; it is just like now I NEVER use "David" (automatic hatred and prejudice) at these Islamic Nations and have been using a Arabic name for decades.

david

Actually, I have been a teacher. Furthermore, I do not ASSUME that the teacher union is cooperating. It is a fact. The union has not made any attempt stop the closure of the school or impede the investigation in any way. Again, you are being unfair because you are accusing the union of imaginary actions. You should confine your comments to actual facts of THIS situation or you may be considered a blowhard.

This may come as a surprise to you but the teacher unions actually side with children and have no interest in protecting child predators.

This is an extreme example of what is known as a "Sick Society". If one member of the society is sick, others with propensities to be that way follow along. What type of psychological testing is given to teachers prior to their employment. We must do everything humanly possible to stop this process from repeating itself. Those children then become high risk for repeating the same offense.

In the late 1700's modern science determined that the practice of slavery rendered a people as sociopaths, and pedophiles. In the time of slavery it was not against the law to have sex with a slave child, and this is why 620,000 men died in the Civil War.Also, the sociopaths turned murderous and killed their good friends, the Native Americans.Both of these diseases are incurable. This is the lesson learned from the Civil War. Unfortunately both are still with us, and both are mainly in the descendants of those who practiced this horrible life style.Now modern science is studying why the sociopaths birth rate is too low, and death rate too high.In other words, dinosaur."And the meek shall inherit the earth" Amen.

David's way of thinking comes from all those e-mails conservatives share with each other (and often try and ram down their friends and relatives throats) where one side is always great and the other side is always evil...thinking in the shallow end of the pool.

Despite what many may think - the majority of people are not wrapped up in political thought all day - they actually have bigger issues to address. Pervs are not party members, unless there is the party of Thinking With Your Little Head.

Difference between what happens in Public schools and what happens in Catholic schools is; in the public schools it is caught right away - in the Catholic schools it is covered up and only comes to light when the abused finally come forward 30 years later - 30 years of additional abuse that can never be un-done.

All the Union does is provide some security - those fine lynch mobs that the conservatives exercised brought about the need for representation. U S history is full of innocent people being hung...but if you want to address every negative with a bigger negative, then don't act like a victim when you are exposed as a radical hot head.

Do you want justice or revenge...if there is a party line here, the conservatives would be those filled with revenge. A liberal may actually save your life if you are ever falsely accused, good luck getting the favor returned by a jury of neo-cons. Like it or not; it is better that 5 guilty people go free than to punish one innocent person....but maybe neo-cons like paying millions when DNA clears a person.

In 2009, the co-founder of the National Education Association (NEA) Conservative Educators Caucus says the NEA will consider adoption of a resolution supporting homosexual "marriage."

The NEA held its annual convention in San Diego, California. Educator and conservative activist Jeralee Smith called OneNewsNow from the convention to report that the executive council has approved language that will throw the full support of the NEA behind same-gender marriage, homosexual adoption, and other issues surrounding the homosexual agenda.

The NEA could be taking this opportunityto place more pro-homosexual teachers in their California system. Each time a heterosexual offense takes place, the media jumps on it. When homosexuals prey on children they don't want the correct tag - homosexual pedophile - attached to the stigma. Homosexuals insist on calling the pedophile without the homosexual tag attached. Instead calling attention and placing the blame on homosexuals posing as priests, the homosexuals place blame on the church. The church is only to blame for hiding the homosexual pedophiles, not for committing the hedious crime of sodomizing children.

In 2009, the co-founder of the National Education Association (NEA) Conservative Educators Caucus says the NEA will consider adoption of a resolution supporting homosexual "marriage."

The NEA held its annual convention in San Diego, California. Educator and conservative activist Jeralee Smith called OneNewsNow from the convention to report that the executive council has approved language that will throw the full support of the NEA behind same-gender marriage, homosexual adoption, and other issues surrounding the homosexual agenda.

The NEA could be taking this opportunityto place more pro-homosexual teachers in their California system. Each time a heterosexual offense takes place, the media jumps on it. When homosexuals prey on children they don't want the correct tag - homosexual pedophile - attached to the stigma. Homosexuals insist on calling the pedophile without the homosexual tag attached. Instead calling attention and placing the blame on homosexuals posing as priests, the homosexuals place blame on the church. The church is only to blame for hiding the homosexual pedophiles, not for committing the hedious crime of sodomizing children.

The American Federation of Teachers support pushing the homosexual agenda and you pay for it through your tax dollars to the school systems. What does the AFT do to spread the homosexual message?

It cooperates very closely with homosexual activist groups - chief amoung them GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) - to establish, in as many schools as possible, "gay" student clubs, homosexual-friendly curriculum, and a sympathetic and enabling faculty.

The union actively supports homosexual political campaigns. It publicly endorces "gay marriage" and related issues, contributes money to homosexual activism, and supports political candidates friendly to the homosexual cause.

Its leaders make public comments in support of the homosexual agenda.

The AFT's power structure includes a Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender (LGBT)
caucus, which cooperates with similar groups in other unions.

If you look up the sexual choice of the replacement 'teachers' you might find most if not all are either homosexual or pro-homosexual.

It has nothing to do with being religious or not religious, being on the left or being on the right, people who prey on children will put themselves in situations where they can be around children (coaches, churches, schools ...). It is up to us to be deligent and if we suspect something report it and not say "well he is a coach or she is a Sunday School teacher or even a public school teacher". We over look alot of little signals because of the individuals perceived "role" in our community.

Positions will be filled by qualified teachers and other workers already on a placement or rehiring list..

It strikes me funny that the school district would replace all teachers, good and bad, with teachers that are on the "rehiring" list. Why did they get rid of them in the first place? Were they bad teachers? Certainly a certain percentage of them would be below average if they were laid off right? Is this a liberal way to solve the educational problems in California?

Dude....really? What does being a Liberal, a Conservative, a Christian or non have to do with any of this? Child abuse is child abuse and has no specific label. Secondly, many a teacher has been laid off due to budget cuts and their re-hire eligibility has been in place all along. It is rather presumptous to assume that they were laid off for any other reason than that don't you think? To slant this toward any political affiliation only shows that you prefer to take the focus off of the real issue and insert your view of the world as "Dude" knows it.

Rick-in-SD

I'm a liberal and I find this disgusting. I see no evidence that the NEA is supporting these criminals, so where did that come from?

If you see no evidence it's because you're not looking for it. Of course they are defending them because technically they are not criminals YET. The real test will come AFTER they are convicted of their crimes (assuming they are guilty of course) then we'll see what the unions do. If they aren't convicted they will most certainly keep their jobs and most likely get paid NOT to teach children. Sound crazy? It wouldn't be the first time it's happened-

"Disgraced New York City teacher Alan Rosenfeld has been banished from the classroom for more than a decade, yet still receives an annual salary of $100,049 along with a bulky package of benefits, including health insurance, a generous pension, and vacation and sick pay. Deemed a danger to students, the 66-year-old teacher was accused in 2001 of making vulgar comments and inappropriately gawking at eighth-grade female students in a Queens public school."- http://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/education/10702-nyc-teacher-banned-from-classroom-still-paid-100k-a-year-wont-retire

Dude, is a little confused - he has a tie-dyed Peace symbol but slams liberals....sounds like one of the pervs who goes to our Grateful Dead and Phish shows just to look for naked women at the public showers....you are so busted.

Lyno5 and SweetAZ.... Thank you for your actual intelligent posts on this. Most people on these sites are scary, even more scary that they can actually legally vote and affect others lives.

A lot of you people make me cringe. Please please please dont vote in Nov, just stay inside and keep listening to idiots like Glenn Beck. Blame the left, blame the right, blame the religious and blame the atheists...just dont actually vote and try to make your idiocy valid as law for the rest of us.

David...your "logic" is frightening

Backcountry; what you don't understand is for a Union member to get anything, it has to be negotiated. The reason non Union negotiators agree to the things they do is because whatever the Union gets - the non Union people also get....but they don't have to pay dues (at least that's how it worked at my old job).

The problem is there in no balance; we know how employers treated people before Unions, and we know that some Unions get too much...but, good luck finding people to actually find a rational balance. It must be human nature to try and get one up on everyone else....and the bragging that goes on here at the Vine pretty much confirms that. PRIDE; the deadliest of all the sins.

Well, let's see how Atheists stack up against the Holy folks:

http://www.holysmoke.org/icr-pri.htm

Not unexpected as a result. Note that atheists, being a moderate proportion of the USA population (about 8-16%) are disproportionately less in the prison populations (0.21%).

OMG!!!!! say it's not so! How could it be? FOFLMAO.............. Yeah, it's all of those big bad Atheists that are @!$%#ing everything up. What do you expect from the Holier than thou folks? I mean with their superior moral compass, that us Atheists lack.

As an Atheists I find ANY form of child abuse appalling. But even more appalling is when the abuse comes from a person of authority who is tasked with protecting children. Whether it be a Teacher, a Police Officer, a Parent or a Priest, forty lashes then keel hauled then fed to the fishes.

I'm wondering why everyone is blaming someone except the person that is directly mentioned in the article. Its time to stop this kind of behavior in school and I guess its hard to know this kind of person until the crime is commited, exactly when its too late. I would like to see these peoples resumes and and interviews. Ok, even if you can't tell from those, a stricter punishment won't hurt. Check and double checking everyone would be a policy that needs to be installed in a way that it works and these kind of issues don't occur anymore. I would have to think that more attention to everyone would be a start. I also would like to see the state budgets stay where they're helpful to schools hiring the best suited for this work and not just someone that barely makes the grade but fits into the budget.

drainbramage

...we know how employers treated people before Unions,....

And we know that NOW people are protected from that sort of treatment by LAWS. So what was the purpose of the modern day union again?

drainbramage

Dude, is a little confused - he has a tie-dyed Peace symbol but slams liberals....sounds like one of the pervs who goes to our Grateful Dead and Phish shows just to look for naked women at the public showers....you are so busted.

Offering nothing but a CoH violation is hardly offering healthy debate. You've been reported.

Mark...

It is a far, far larger problem then just these "2 teachers out of millions"...if a situation like this has never happened in the town you live in, then I'll pretty much guarantee you it has happened in one of the towns that borders your town.

I grew up in the 60s pretty much and I easily can remember 4 teachers that all of us knew wasn't right. One was finally arrested, another made to leave. This is not including the male teachers that had sex with 8th grade girls. Looking back, we never said a thing to our parents. We just accepted that was how it was. Those of us that were smart avoided ever being alone with these men. Opps, I take it back. I can think of two more people - one a woman.

If you "liked" kids, you would of course choose to have a reason to hang around them and so being a teacher would be a good fit. I can guarantee you that the other teachers knew what was going on and said nothing. It is the same sort of mentality we saw at Penn State.

yep, them priests would never be suspected of such lewd behaviour - guilty but not suspected ('til lately).

your right Strider.......and don't forget about the Hasidic rabbis in NYC...what a shame....and they are allowed to handle the situation themselves, and get away with it,,,,sad sad sad

How about some parental involvement in these kids lives? Maybe if the parents taught kids what to look for in this sort of behavior or went and spent time with teachers as they did when I went to school, some of this could have been avoided. Instead, they blindly drop their children off at schools and sporting events and expect someone else to be responsible and babysit for them. This is a tragedy, but lets not let the parent off scott free. I've worked with kids and parents are neglectful.

I know of two cases in the 60's, one male teacher physed and one women teacher English, that had a thing for students in junior high and high school, these people exist and always have there are just more of them now. and not just teachers some are normal looking people around the neighborhood. you need to talk to your children, all tho the boys probably wont talk about it much. a friend of mine had trouble with his 14 year old son having an affair with a 30 year old woman. could not stop it, the boy was mezmorized and would not say who but would constantly disappear for days at a time, I think he liked it. that was maybe 12 years ago. it was later found out but I don't know the outcome and don't ask.

Went to Catholic school. All there were was Nuns there. don't know of anything ever happening in our area. Of course the bigger cities definitely a different story. Though I did misbehave and got the Paddle from mother superior more than once. We still all went out in the rain to the soccer field and cried when Kennedy was assasinated. Many people had good experiences from Catholic school and upbringing.

.... replace the child molesters and shuffle them off to another school ... I remember this one, didn't the Catholic Church shuffle their child molesters from perish to perish ... I don't think it turned out so well for the children. They need to fire everybody at that school and restaff, not shuffle molesters ... GD teachers union.

I'm just trying to figure out just how many sick SOBs we have in our country! This is getting to be daily news! Isn't there someway to identify potential child molestors in the interview process for teachers so that we can put a stop to this? Our government needs to develop some sort of profile and interview process that would throw up red flags and make this process mandatory for all teacher interviews. Sounds like those that are already teachers need to go through this process as well. Or do we need to start putting two adults in each classroom so one can police the other? It does seem that certain professions would be attractive to child molestors and extra vigilence in those professions is necessary to protect our children. God knows, I don't know the answer but somebody has to figure this out for our children's sakes!

A recent news report said young males attending Catholic schools have more than a 90% chance of being molested before they graduate from high school. The article had been removed when I went back a few hours later and tried to locate it and print it. Yes, if that is happening in one out of thousands of public schools, and millions of teachers, you can be assured it is also happening in a neighborhood close to you. Of course, many teachers and principals, as well as even some parents, will want it covered up and kept out of the news.

When I was in high school in the 50s, a very attractive teacher, in her 20s, was known to readily accommodate any of the male students, who mostly greatly admired her. This was never reported in my high school of over 3,000 students, and it is not reasonable to think that other teachers did not know what was going on. Even some of the 200 to 300 year old teachers, who had never smiled in their lives, and never been married, would walk past her as the guys were gathered around her, with that look of eternal grimness, but none ever said a word.

This report illustrates why many Seventh Day Adventists, Baptists, and other concerned groups, either home-school their children or send them to church schools.

To the contrary, the priest from the Catholic church molested many a child in there care, you were lucky. You dodged a bullet.

ken lay off the beans...

Went to Catholic school for many years. Never saw or experienced anything inappropriate nor did I ever hear of anything ever. However in PUBLIC high school I did see inappropriateness from a woman teacher. I even had a class switched to get away from her when I wound up getting her then next year for a class.

@Greenwood10, it's not a liberal or conservative issue, but a criminal issue, and shame on you for trying to bring politics into this. I'd taught music for several years at several private Catholic and Christian schools here in Texas, and incidents like this were happening about once everycouple of years at one of my schools. We even had two boys arrested for sexually assaulting a girl during a weekend retreat. And yes, the Catholic schools are just as guilty of trying to cover up sexual crimes just like the public schools. The difference is, the Catholic schools try to hide behind God.

@Greenwood10, it's not a liberal or conservative issue, but a criminal issue, and shame on you for trying to bring politics into this.

You mean like the left who have a steady diet of bashing the catholic church? You even go on to start the bashing of the church in your post. Shame on me? Hypocrisy!

@Michael

Such as E K Kadiddlehopper saying basically that if you go to catholic school your chances of being mlested are 90%... or debra-3629477 saying that he was lucky to get out of school unscathed...are you serious?

I went to catholic school from 10-12th grade no problem. Before that I was in public school, had a child moplester for a 7th grade science teacher. The female students told the principals about it... nothing was done except to switch their classes.

School administrators are about as bad as Catholic bishops and cardinals.

Graham big city kid here all we had were nuns too. With 72 kids in my 2nd grade class they had no time to fool around. Baby boomer here public school was just as crowded. City cheered when the next parish opened its school and took care of both schools problem. We need to make it a moral code in society that kids are off limits. I know you liberals and atheists hate that word, but societal moral codes are stronger than laws. Quit treating the poor molester like a china doll and treat him like the scum he is no matter who he or she is. Society has power if it uses it.

What the hell is wrong with everyone?! Blame the perverts who committed the crimes! How did this get turned into a political debate? This isn't liberals' fault, this isn't conservatives' fault. It's the fault of the teachers who did it.

Amen, Carrie. It doesn't matter what the topic is. It turns into what about Bush ? What about Obama ? Each side screams agendas, dirty politics, and unfair treatment. The whole country has turned into a pre-school playground !

Bah, you people bring up "Christian" and "Liberal/Conservative" crap too much. If bad teachers are around, fire them. It doesn't matter if it is a public school or private school. My high school principle was charged with pedophilia. Right after he was arrested, all the teachers defended the jerk. Earlier this month, a public school here in Bed Stuy had arrested a man making child porn IN THE SCHOOL. We need better teachers and a better way of hiring them. Then we can pay them more money and be confident in our children's education. As far as religion in schools and in this country is concerned, maybe it should be more of a home or family matter. This is mainly because there is no real historical evidence of Jesus Christ in History. It is a myth to think otherwise. The New Testament is a book of lies or a fabrications. The Old Testament was based on even older books/legends/myths/stories from the likes of Sumeria and Egypt. And regardless of that, people into religion tend to focus on Death and outdated morality rules rather than the actual teaching of the Bible. When we ditch religion in this country, use knowledge and education for morality, society will be better off.

Justin See:

YOU WROTE: "... there is no real historical evidence of Jesus Christ in History. It is a myth to think otherwise."

MY RESPONSE: Really? Evidence of His existence can be verified by many sources.

First, there is the testimony of the New Testament documents. All 27 New Testament books were completed within 60 years of Christ's resurrection. Ten of these books were written by Christ's personal friends. At least 13 were written by Paul, an eyewitness of Christ's life.

Second, the Jewish Babylonian Talmud and the writings of the famous Jewish historian, Josephus, bear witness to the historical presence of Christ. Their testimony to Christ's existence is all the more valuable, because the Jews not only rejected Christ, but were extremely hostile toward Him. Many of these writings contain lies and distortions, but the very fact He merits attention supports His historical existence.

Third, ancient nonreligious historical writings also bear record of Christ. For example, Pliny, the governor of Bithynia (around 112 A.D.); the Roman historian Tacitus (115 A.D.); and the popular Roman writer Seutonius (about 120 A.D.) all acknowledge the existence of Christ.

So your claim that the existence of Christ is a myth can be exposed as baseless nonsense. There's plenty of evidence for Christ's existence, but you just won't accept it.

It's really not difficult to know what it is. Very few liquids look like semen, then couple that with the guy being creepy and having them blindfolded.....

They found the spoon in the trash and tested the spoon. Came back positive for semen.

It was tested in the police lab and his was also his DNA.

They said it tasted funny.

What possesses a person to be that disgusting?

We are spiraling down as a Society folks. Deviants in our Government, Religion and Schools. Immoral Leaders in Business, a la Wall Street, Drug Mfg., and Healthcare.

We reap what we sew . . .

I think that things like this have always happened but now we are finding out. Before it was hidden by shame and fear. Of couse in the old old days, when someone was found guilty of harming children, that person was hung. Either by the state or the community.

This story is about sexual perversion, Lusitania, not greed. Don't know why you made that comment...

We need to purge our society of these cockroach men. Something has to be done. I know there are women who commit these horrible acts also, but the majority of these perverts are men. Parents protect your children as best you can. Know where they are and who they are with. I wish there was a requirement that each classroom had a volunteering parent to oversee the class. These men are in our schools, churches, next door and sometimes in our own homes. What in the world is wrong with them?

Moseur, You're right. Things like this have always gone on. It's just that now it's being made public. I remember a HS math teacher I had. This was before the term "Sexual Harassment" had ever been verbalized. He was just creepy. I don't know that he actually DID anything, but he would Hug us and Kiss our cheeks. Stuff like that. It would never have occurred to us to speak to anyone about it. You just learned to avoid being alone with him.

It's good that it's out in the open today, but at the same time, it's sad that it seems to be so prevalent. You don't know who to trust.

To "about that"

I agree with your comment, but "we reap what we sow" as in plant.

D Over,

... volunteering parent to oversee the class ...

That is the best idea I have heard so far. Neither the school nor the teacher's union can disapprove that one. Place a parent where ever there is an adult and children together, cafeteria, gym, field, any where.

Bravo D Over.

Put'em in a cell with Bubba. They can play all they want!!

The authorities searched the man's classroom and found several spoons. They ran DNA testing on the spoons and compared it to samples taken from the slim ball who was feeding his spunk to female students. He had pictures of this act - they found photographic evidence of this.

D Over & Ad'M: Great suggestion. The policy of Boy Scouts & Cub Scouts is that there must be two adults present at all times - never is there to be an adult alone with a child. However, being the pessimist that I am, isn't it just a matter of time until BOTH adults are disgusting, perverted, child molesters who prey on the children together?

I wish there was a requirement that each classroom had a volunteering parent to oversee the class.

Then the perverts would volunteer to 'oversee'.

It's not that simple. The Scouts policy is part of it. The Catholic Church now requires a class for anyone working with children (to help people identify perverts) and has also adopted the same 'two adult' policy as the Scouts, (which at times is more prudent than practical, but these are the times we live in).

Still, I fail to see why firing ALL the teachers at the LA school, whether they are guilty or innocent, is seen as a good idea.

Here's an idea: let's catch the bad guys and put them in jail for life (where they belong), instead of letting them get away with it for decades, and punishing good teachers along with the horrible criminals once the truth is finally out in the open.

There is no way this sociopath has any redeeming qualities and these horrendous acts must be dealt with severely. Sometimes the herd must be culled and it's time for this scum to be put down. Hell is too good for him.

The reason the entire staff were fired is simple. None of the rest of the staff could possibly not have known what was going on. These teachers meet before classes start every morning. They talk not only about their curricula but the students, their parents and each other. Anyone who has never been in the teachers' room can attest to this.

While children may not be fully competent to report a teacher to other teachers due to their lack of maturity, even if one had, would another teacher rat out a fellow teacher?

One thing about most schools is the insularity. This is promoted as much by fellow teaching staffs as by their union. Normally, that shouldn't be a problem in a totally adult workplace. But when children require protection from one bad apple in a basket of apples who prefer insularity to the public coming in and "having too much input", there will always abuses that remain hidden until an outsider blows the whistle.

Did Jenna Jamison confirm the finding that it was actually semen ??

Ya, lets blame it on not enough religion? First of all if you are to stupid to notice the earth just surpassed 7 billion people due to religion. The more people the worse society will look. So if your going to blame a group of people pick any religion that doesn't know when to stop screwing. Self control by deviance in our society should not be expected until the world can come to grip with a massive population problem that needs to be dealt with. Religion has spawned many wars, created poverty and famine all in the name of that groups idea of God. Does anyone really believe a God would come down to earth and say "don't believe in science keep screwing and trash the place"?

D Buck-2239568, they are mentally ill and have no moral values. That is why the purpose of the law is to legislate morality.

Teachers are federally mandated reporters. They must report any suspected child abuse. This abuse didn't start yesterday and this whacko was selling the photographs. People knew. I have been in the Teachers Lounge and every one sure seemed to know what everyone else was doing. This 'Teachers" are being given paid leave. Should anyone of them be found to have knowledge of the abuse they should have to return their salary.

For the posters possessing poor reading comprehension skills, all of the staff were not fired. They are on paid administrative leave while an investigation is being conducted. I am beginning to suspect the majority of rumors in this world are started by people who cannot understand what they read.

These two creeps make me wish the "No Cruel and Unusual Punishment" clause was removed from the Constitution... My sick, twisted mind would revel in delight if that happened and I got my hands on them! I'd make the Devil sick along with Freddy Kruger, Jason Vorhees, Pinhead and Jigsaw!

Perves are everywhere. You can do a search by your zip code to see how many REGISTERED ones you have near by.. But those are the ones that have been caught.

We had em in my schools.. I went to two different high schools and both had perves that actually had sex and affairs with students. We had em in my church. My 15 yo neighbor was knocked up by a 30 yo one. We had em starting young... 19 year guys hitting on 12 year old girls. And that was just the OBVIOUS stuff. I wonder why there are so many.

It is very unfair to replace the entire staff at Miramonte Elementary School. By putting the dedicated teachers and staff in the same category as these two men are is very harmful to them and their families. It is about time that we all started to teach ourselves including our children what is right and wrong. It is time to turn from our sinful ways and return to God. He will forgive us of all of our sins past, present, and future.

The United Teachers Union and the National Education Association must draw up strict and enforceable guidelines on behavior in the classroom and be willing to purge their ranks of those educators who violate the sacred trust of educating our children.

I would also recommend that everyone read the Way to Happiness booklet especially that chapter pertaining to family and the raising of children.

If we want to reverse our downward spiral as a society we must learn to love one another and help another.

In regards to the protest, it said "School police watched and sheriff's deputies were on hand". These "school police" need to be replaced also. They obviously weren't doing a their jobs if they let this get so out of control right under their noses; or worse, took a "look the other way" attitude.

susan shedlow - It is very unfair to replace the entire staff at Miramonte Elementary School.

Oh yes it is "Fair" (Legal), as demanded Teachers Union "Collective Bargaining" (Hire All Union Teachers or None) also means "Collective Punishment" (Fire All Union Teachers or None).

And do not tell me I do not know, my 2nd Career was Teaching until the continuous Recalls to Active Duty (US Military Officer) f**ked up my 2nd Career (Teaching) and 3rd Career (Retail Manager). You want hear "Unfair", how fair was it that the various Teachers Unions and Associations (another name for a Union) kept demanding Automatic Deductions from my US Military pay for their Union Dues while I was Deployed (not Teaching), then started threatening Legal Actions, Letters to my Commanders, Lobbyists to my Congressional Representatives, etc.. Everything that the Teachers Unions and Associations (Local, City, State, National, as also Local, City, State "Government Employees" Unions) were doing were against US Laws to protect US Military Service Members (my Counter Lawsuits, I sued the f**k out of them, with the US Taxpayers (Local, City, State Governments that hired the Unions; not the Unions) ending up paying the both Court and Out of Court Settlements (including proven in Court Libel, Slander and Defamation of Character)).

Snoop Marky Mark - D Buck-2239568, they are mentally ill and have no moral values. That is why the purpose of the law is to legislate morality.

Don't confuse Morality (a Religious concept) with Ethics (a written Law).

We live in an evil fallen world. We despirately want to find someone to blame when this happens to children. Many blame religion or the lack of it. We are angry because we cannot stop this or control it when it happens, especially in this modern world of openness. All we can do is shine a light on it and expose the cockroaches. We have to blame the molesters themselves. They are sick people. They are everywhere, especially where children are, Schools, daycares, churches, scouts, any organization that serves young people. And they are even in the next house or down the block. And to beat it all, children don't have to leave their own homes to be abused, either by adults living there or it is just a click of the mouse away. We have to talk to our children everyday in a way that they will feel free to tell us if something is happening to them. We can't just let them walk out the door in the morning and trust the adults we place them in the hands of to take care of them and educate them. Too many people do that. We have to be more involved in our children's lives, however possible. If I were a parent in this school, I would never want to send my child out of the house again. But we all know that isn't practical. We now have to tell our children a lot earlier in life about evil, bad people and what they can do. We have to make our children afraid a lot earlier than we want to. I believe I read a comment earlier that refers to a large population. I agree that because of this we will see a lot more in the future. School is just a tiny microcosm of society. This school needs to do this thing right. Prosecution of the perpertrators and the dismissal of the whole staff was an extreme measure. They need to have "all their ducks in a row" so to speak.

FatBobMob:

YOU WROTE: "First of all if you are to stupid to notice the earth just surpassed 7 billion people due to religion...So if your going to blame a group of people pick any religion that doesn't know when to stop screwing...Religion has spawned many wars, created poverty and famine all in the name of that groups idea of God."

MY RESPONSE: WOW! Where do I start? First of all, the earth's large population is due to many factors. Poor people in poor countries tend to have large families because they need workers to tend their crops/animals. Large families also increase the likelihood that at least SOME of the children will care for their aged parents when that need arises. And because many infants don't survive to adulthood in poor countries, giving birth to many babies inceases the liklihood that at least SOME of those babies will survive to adulthood. Besides, sexual intercourse, which often results in pregnancy, typically is motivated by innate hormonal urges rather than by religious beliefs. That's just common sense. Otherwise, atheists, agnostics, and other non-believers wouldn't engage in sex.

In addition, less than 7% of all the wars in recorded history have been associated with religion, according to the "Encyclopedia of Wars" (a three-volume set by Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod). And somewhere around 90% of all the homeless shelters in the USA are run by church-affiliated groups. Also, Catholic Charities is one of the largest private charitable organizations on earth. All of this means that religion is NOT responsible for the overwhelming majority of wars and that religions tend to alleviate poverty and famine rather than create it.

In fact, I could make a cogent argument that many of the ills in our world are spawned from a lack of belief in God. Just think about the atrocities committed by Hitler, Stalin, and Mao during the 20th century alone. That trio alone slaughtered nearly 100 million people.

Let me add to that mix some other recent atheist rulers who slaughtered vast numbers of people. Pol Pot of Cambodia murdered an estimated 2,000,000+ folks; Kim Il-Sung of north Korea dispatched approximately 1,600,000 people and casued widespread famine; Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia killed an estimated 1,072,000 people; and Nicolae Ceausescue of Romania put to death 60,000 folks. Atheist rulers slaughter, torture, and starve people on an unimaginable scale that religious leaders would be hard pressed to compete with.

Thanks Mike227, your the only one beside me understand this.They are trying to justified this by firing the whole staff, and bring in new one, that can do the same thing, like I say in my book, frome 1 to 99. (MEN) will have sex with anybody and anything. And there is nothing that women can do about it, except one thing, and that is CASTRATE all babies boy at birth. But what would happen to the world? There is no way that women can stop men from having sex. Not even the fear of doing 500 years in jail, for which they seem to give out for offenders, but only 25 years for murders And how does one know he is an offender, you don't until they get caught and do time in jail and become one.

Larry, 341293, that is BS to the max. I mean really, do you have to say crap like this. It not even remotely true. This is a rare deviant. Are you really a man??? Or you just some covert radical feminist attempting to breed even greater hatred of males? And like women are not guilty of molesting boys. Little boys are accustomed to being handled by women and don't know that it is wrong what they are doing when they are really young. Cougars use to go after underage boys all the time when I was a kid. They'd be lonely, husbands out of town. This was common. There are deviants in both genders. Man, you are a piece of work!!

Larry if that is the kind of ridiculous garbage that is in your book I am sure it can be found in bargain bins everywhere, that is if anyone in their right mind even published it for you. If someone is mentally ill they are capable of doing irrational and despicable things, but it certainly isn't limited to men.

Larry, you didn't read the article. They did not FIRE the staff. They are basically on paid leave until the investigation is complete. Which could take who knows how long? So they are all getting a paid vacation! Wish my co-workers did something scummy so I could get that sweet deal. Wait, I forgot, I am unemployed, so I can't get a paid leave.....

Larry, so all men should be mutilated at birth or held in cages because you had a bad experience with one? Just because you are a sick puppy does not mean you can put all men in your category.

I bet you are getting paid leave Yank

Read the article carefully. Nowhere in it does it state the entire staff is being fired. They are on paid leave. So not only does the staff under investigation get a paid vacation, their replacements get paid as well. So far, the only people being punished here are the taxpayers who get to pay two people to fill one position in the school.

Larry, I am a woman and I don't agree with you at all. Not ALL men or even 90% are like that. I don't believe it for a moment. That you DO tells me a lot about you. Are YOU a part of that 90% you speak of? These people are sickos for sure. Unfortunately they tend to go into fields where children are accessible to them. Teachers, scout leaders, cops, priests, etc. Maybe we should be doing better background checks on those we trust our children to. Not to offend those who are innocent, but to protect our kids.

Janine...

Thank you...from one of Lary's 10%.

There is enough blame to go around for all those people and organizations mentioned above. Parents need to look really hard in the mirror and ask themselves the really hard questions, the one's that needed to be asked of their children and teachers. Don't the parents of the 23 children molested by this animal talk to their children? Hang him by his privates in the public square. Or would that be to cruel and unusual for the fruits and nuts of LA and SF.

The unfortunate part about background check, Janine, is they are only as powerful as our records. The only (useful) information you can really get from them is criminal past. Well, every criminal has to have a "first" crime...Other than that, this crap that Larry is spewing, just ignore it. It is not worth the trouble of getting pissed about it.

Cliff - I wish kids would talk to their parents more, especially when these types of things keep occurring. I know that mine would have, but when I'd ask him what his day was like after school, I kept getting pretty much the same answer, "Fine". End of story. Maybe it's a boy thing - I think girls have more of a tendency to vocalize. Regardless, he would definitely have told me if things weren't "fine" and did on several occasions, but that had more to do with hurt feelings or bullying.

Bottom line is, you don't know what these perverts threatened these kids with, so some of them may have been afraid or just weirded out. I'm glad some of the kids did speak up. No telling how long this abuse had been going on or how long it would have continued. Plus, the abusers may not have had a criminal past, which is the scariest part of all. Unless your kid speaks up, how would you have known this would happen?

I had read that the children were not initially alarmed as he led them to believe they were playing a "game". Young children, unfortunately, don't always know about "good" and "bad" touches, inappropriate behavior, etc. Sadly, parents need to start teaching their children about things of this nature at earlier and earlier ages.

Mike757 If someone is mentally ill they are capable of doing irrational and despicable things, but it certainly isn't limited to men.

Mike your the pot calling the Kettle black. All humans are capable of doing irrational and despicable things. The only reason why some do not is MORALS. And no they do not have to be religious in nature.

Mentally Ill people are not Criminals just because they have an illness. Child molesters are not ill they are disgusting and immoral. Much like a murderer who kills for pleasure aka (serial). And a serial child molester should face the death penalty just like a serial killer.

If a person has Bipolar disorder Depression Schizophrenia or many other mental illnesses that does not make them evil or insane. And it defiantly does not automatically mean they are criminal.

How do we know that the teaspoon content really is not from a little boy?, I mean 99.8 % of them work that way, and some get an early surprice, while "investigating" themselves, like little girls bleeding at 2-5 years these days from too much estrogen either from grandma kissing her especially when she was a little baby(extreemely sensitive), and grandma being on estogen pills, or from a leak in the woom in mama--during the now almost automatic C section!! (both severe "modern problems" at birth). Are you sure they actually compared the teacher DNA and the "product"?--In these US of A I never trust anyone, unless I have seen it myself!--now you know why the inocent project is doing so well!

But there are perverts everywhere, and at least 50-75 % of all boys have been perverts between 5 and 20 years old!--have you ever really watched monkeys in the Zoo for a day, they behave quite naturally, but discusting!---I was in the airforce 6 years!!!!!!

The real problem here is that USA treats the following as heroes: teachers, firemen, policemen, soldiers, citi garbage people, poleticians (even when they "serve" (paid))--Why is a town supervisor and a town tax collector a politician? he should just be a paid accountant.------Thereby giving them a get around/and out free card, very much so, I was very suprised why a school teacher thinks they should walk up and ask for discounts everywhere, same with the other types I mentioned.

you are one sick puppy.

It really is so depraved. It's just unspeakable. To all the doubters about the devil and evil in this world witness this. How could such a bent mind do this to innocent children?

Well Put Greenwood10

Oh please, can the devil talk. All your talk of sin and evil only gives bad people someone ELSE to blame for their own behavior. This is what emotionally immature people do - look for someone else to blame. There's just as many "evil" people in churches as there are GOOD people who wouldn't set foot inside those "institutions". Pedophiles have existed since the first time a man got a woody. There's no more "evil" in molesting a child than there is in a man who forces himself upon a woman. A man will screw anything if he has no other options. These are selfish cowards who prey on weaker humans.

OHC I'll call BS there, you cannot compare a man raping an adult woman and a man molesting a child, they are two different levels of evil.

We are spiraling down as a Society folks. Deviants in our Government, Religion and Schools. Immoral Leaders in Business, a la Wall Street, Drug Mfg., and Healthcare.

Yea. That Evil Healthcare for everyone...it's a b**** ain't it?

Mike, I agree with you to an extent, BUT a man who will Rape ANYONE, woman or child is a sicko. As a woman I don't see a lot of difference between the 2. They are men who NEED to control someone weaker. Be that a woman or child doesn't seem to make much difference.

Personally I've always been of the opinion that any man convicted of Rape should be left for an hour or so in a room with the families of the victims. Maybe the parents of the child, or the brothers or husband of the woman. Now THAT would be justice.

The fact that they are getting rid of all the teachers might be a good hint as to more to be coming.

You are so right and they are just trying to wipe their hands clean from this mess when they should have done something about this months ago!! I'm so sick of these SORRY adults who sit back and allow children to be violated as if they don'talready have enough to deal with in these sick world.

Leatherneck918, I think you missed the sarcasm intended.

Oh, come on. That's just stupid.

JoobyFoo

But this is CALIFORNIA!! Can't get any more "just stupid" than that.

And Penn State is Pennsylvania. What's your point, gtouch?

People are stupid everywhere not sure the state has anything to do with it.

Penn State is in Pa but they seem to play by their own rules. Cover ups by school officials including the "legendary" coach

yup, Unions would say "invasion of the teacher's privacy".

I have a nephew in Pre-school and they have cameras everywhere, and parents can see what is going on from work...this I like.

Put as many cameras as you want, these perverts will find a way to your child. The solution(s) is a series of complex steps, including cameras, that both government and the family must do.

Do your homework when you select a school for your child. Ask many questions, all the questions and base your selections on verifiable answers.

Educate your child at an early age. Teaching the child of signs to look out for, like touching and so forth, is not enough. The child must be taught to associate adults with caution and not just strangers but anyone who will come in contact with the child, teachers, coaches, tutors, even the freaking gardener. The child's antennas should be develop early and it can be done without adversely affecting the child, ask for advise at the very schools you take them to.

Unfortunately the child is the best solution, the government doesn't give a hoot. Hell, there are some states that allow gays to adopt children, are you freaking kidding me? This society is full with perverts and it is up to the child to recognize the danger as early as possible.

Being 'gay' does not equal being a pedophile. In fact most pedophiles are heterosexual.

I can't believe you went there with gay adoption.

The reason for the lack of cameras is because parents don't want them. At my school we had a huge battle to put cameras in the hallways. When the school council (made up of parents) was approached concerning putting cameras in the classroom it was voted down. I doubt you would find many teachers objecting to cameras however you have plenty of parents not signing off on their children consenting to being recorded in school. Every year we have to pull these students aside and basically suspend them until parents come and sign off that their kids can be filmed while in the hallways. At this time we cannot even put cameras in the lunchrooms.

Camera in Ad'M's house!

Yes bring on big brother and his cameras, is their a pattern here. I would rather they just turn the teachers involved over to the parents, eliminate the possibility of teachers getting the students into private areas. and put all perverts in cages, those that survive the parents. perverts are as bad as thieves and murderers, they rank right up there at the top of the $hit list, they robe you of your innocence and your dignity and they destroy your life, what can be worse only murder itself. And some times that might be questionable. its a despicable act. its one of the worst crimes a person can commit.

Again D Buck, fine put cameras in the classroom, then the child go home to another pervert, in dad, uncle brother cousin and the neighbor, or maybe the policeman, or the doctor. Here is the awnser to everyone question (GET RID of MEN). Yea that what you do kill all the Men in the world.

A'dm, how can anyone take your suggestions for any kind of solution seriously, when in the next breath you equate being gay with being a pedophile. Geez. Such an absolute leap of (il)logic.

It is the job of the teachers union to put the needs of the union and/or the teachers above the needs of the children. The teachers union should be eliminated by any means necessary.

AMEN.

As others have said, cameras won't get put into classrooms because parents won't approve. I've worked in schools for years and there are always parents who don't even let their children be photographed for any reason while at school. Video cameras would never be approved in most public schools. The only reason busses can have cameras is because parents have a choice to make use of the bus or not. There isn't any choice whether or not to send your child to school unless you're going to home school them and that's not possible for most families.

And like it was also mentioned, teachers are far from the only group that might be a problem. You can find this anywhere and you can't always monitor every place your child is at. Teachers are actually less likely to be a danger than many other people your children are around, regardless of the current situation. It sounds like teachers are worse only due to how the media spins the stories. The media pretty much ignores most cases of sexual abuse found in the home because it's too common and doesn't sell, so it *appears* that there is greater danger at school when that isn't even close to true.

The fix for this is to teach your children to report inappropriate actions immediately.

They did right in suspending all of the staff. I find it hard to believe that no one else had any idea of what was going on. It was a look the other way or i did not see anything.

Put as many cameras as you want, these perverts will find a way to your child. The solution(s) is a series of complex steps, including cameras, that both government and the family must do.

Do your homework when you select a school for your child. Ask many questions, all the questions and base your selections on verifiable answers.

Educate your child at an early age. Teaching the child of signs to look out for, like touching and so forth, is not enough. The child must be taught to associate adults with caution and not just strangers but anyone who will come in contact with the child, teachers, coaches, tutors, even the freaking gardener. The child's antennas should be develop early and it can be done without adversely affecting the child, ask for advise at the very schools you take them to.

Unfortunately the child is the best solution, the government doesn't give a hoot. Hell, there are some states that allow gays to adopt children, are you freaking kidding me? This society is full with perverts and it is up to the child to recognize the danger as early as possible.

You are paranoid..get help.

Gays/Pedophiles- see NAMBLA- North American Man Boy Love Association.

We have cameras in our (very large public) high school halls and stairwells for security, and signs posted advising folks that they are under surveillance. No one has a problem with this -- we all understand it is for the safety and security of the kids, teachers, and staff. I really would not be surprised if we approved cameras in the classroom as well -- it is a reasonable step that protects everyone.

How is the LAUSD protecting these teachers? The article does not say that. Where does this come from? Your imagination? They were arrested. Berndt will go to jail for a very long time, the jurors and the judge won't like this guy, believe me.

LAUSD is the most corrupt, inefficient, and inept school system in the nation. With guaranteed school funding and massive supplemental funding from state lottery for over a decade, LAUSD still has the highest dropout rate; lowest achievement test scores sucgh as SAT and ACT ; highest number of illiterate HS graduates. Its numerous top-heavy administrators are busy doing 'administration work' while the thousands of over-paid inept school teachers basically 'baby sit' students. In LAUSD 'No Child Left Behind' means all students advance to the next grade level and ultimately graduate regardless of their scholastic failures.

In California the powerful teacher's labor unions ensure no inept or lazy teacher ge fired, but promoted instead. Labor unions and school board politicians are not interested in the well being of students, but focus instead on the advancing their agenda. The teachers' Labor Unions want more pay, smaller classes, less work, more classroom autonomy. School board politicians used their position to launch their political career and rub elbows with campaing contributors, the labor unions.

After the State discovered several Southern California school districts were fleeced or incompetently managed, and subsequently became insolvent, the State authorities placed them under receiverships, the most notables are Comption, Oakland, and Mt Diablo. During the past decades as California became insolvent, an increasing number of school district fell into State receivership .

California is doomed. More noted for its highest number of inmates per capital than any state or nation on earth, California's perverted teacher's unions and inept school administrators have excelled in keeping the jails filled and beyond. Meanwhile, the City Manager, Assistant City Manger, and Police Chief of Bell have been ripping off taxpayers with exorbit paychecks: $600k, 475k, and $500k, respectively.

Well said FatCat! No one wants to admit the liberal policies and failed govt of California have ruined the state. Our child will not go to public school and we are submitting legislation that will give parents who home school or send their kids to private school a tax break. What are my taxes being used for in CA? Moonbeams moronic high speed rail, govt pensions and horrible schools and roads...well done liberals, you keep making the case against yourself, thanks!

Agreed FatCat, that's why, as California residents, my husband and I have decided that I will homeschool our daughters. Private school in California is also a joke, you pay thousands of dollars each year for an "ok" public school level of education. It's pathetic, and the teacher's union is nothing but a bunch of money grubbing losers!

If I was a parent in that school, and I was satisfied with the performance of my kid's teachers, I would be outraged that the district would disrupt my child's education by this wholesale clean-out of a competent staff. The district's overreaction to a bad situation makes the bad situation worse.

This is sounding like a witch hunt. I hope cooler heads prevail.

Although I don't necessarily agree with the decision over replacing the staff, your comment about the replacement teachers being no good is ridiculous. The economy has closed a lot of schools. Many teachers on waiting lists are very good teachers who had the rug pulled out from under them thanks to the economy. Others are new teachers who just don't have seniority and are often laid off whenever there is a money problem. There isn't any reason to think they aren't good enough.

They aren't getting rid of anyone yet. They've put everyone on PAID leave while the investigation is being conducted. I'm guessing anyone who passes the investigation without being arrested will get their job back.

I think this step is vital. They can't let the investigation draw out for months while they disrupt a class at a time interviewing people who may or may not be trouble. Nor can they suspend classes for 2 weeks while they sort this out. Whoever did the hiring at that school obviously has no ability to judge character. The only way to be sure there aren't more predators in the pool is to look at EVERYone who was working there. Once that's done they can say with more confidence that their school is safe. Till they screen EVERY staff member they can't say that.

read the article again. There is a "good" reason the rest of the teachers are being suspended with pay. They are not being fired.

dsb: Yes, you missed something! You and most other posters here. The staff is not being fired, they are being replaced so that the investigation can proceed without these staff people being subjected to the distraction of the investigation process while trying to also run the school. Make sense? Yes!

To the union-bashing righties on here, have you ever taught public school? Didn't think so! Most public school teachers are good people who have now become over-worked, under paid, educated baby sitters trying to cope with overloaded classrooms full of ungreatful brats that they cannot properly discipline for fear of being sued by parents don't even know, or care, what their children are even doing! My sister taught 5th grade for 25 years, and she can tell stories from her experiences that would make your hair stand on end. These teacher heros deserve your support, not your unwarranted hatred. You can find bad people in any profession, so painting all others with the same brush is stupid and ignorant! God bless all dedicated teachers, for their job is a very unappreciated one! Just be thankful they're willing to try and educate your little beasts!

Wileyo- Great post. Finally someone with sense. Teachers aren't to blame for everything. Teachers aren't nannies. It's time parents start taking responsiblity for raising their children themselves instead of expecting teachers to do so. Teaching is not some super easy job with lots of vacation. Teaching is very hard work with little real vacation time. Yes, teachers have summers off, but they also are required to take classes, go to seminars, and more each year and summer is usually the only time when they have time to do so. That means they are usually working throughout the summer. They also have to get their classroom prepared for the following year, which can take time during the summer. Teachers deserve a thank you rather than blame.

Riamus...

I'd fully support any good teacher...but you push it a little bit too far with the "little real vacation time". And people in other professions also "take classes, go to seminars,etc." Full time private sector workers don't have a 42 week schedule with a Christmas-New Year's vacation, a week off in the late winter and/or early spring, more three-day weekends than one can shake a stick at, and summers off.

An average calendar for private sector workers shows about 240 days on the job...and for most it's not a guaranteed job for life after 3 or 4 pre-tenure years working.

Let's stay real here.

They are being "real" as I know far too many teachers and that IS their life.

Ahhh....a 'union lady' to the core.

Diamond? Or, sapphire?

Depends on where you live. Here in central PA, we are awash in teachers.....

Is that why they can work "for nothing"?

They have a pool of former and laid off teachers. What I'm wondering is where are they going to get all those social workers from. Plus they are going to have SW's in classrooms talking to kids that don't have a clue who those guilty teachers are and won't be able to understand what is going on. Talk about confusing to the kids.

A teacher charged with 23 counts of lewd conduct in his classroom successfully thwarted attempts by the Los Angeles Unified School District to fire him.

In the process, the teacher, who is accused of spoon-feeding his semen to blindfolded children, managed to retain lifetime health-benefits provided by the nation's second-largest school system.

Have a problem with teachers abusing students? blame the public service workers UNION

Former Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt also automatically receives nearly $4,000 a month in pension from the California State Teachers' Retirement System.

I don't know how it is over there, but in South Carolina we do have to have background checks--we are fingerprinted and those prints are sent to SLED (our state law enforcement office) for a pretty thorough check. Not saying it weeds out everyone, though.

All teachers do have background checks. And all teacher aides. And all coaches. And all volunteers.

I do agree with you about the cameras. We have 48 of them placed around our campus, and they have completely eliminated incipient gang activity and graffiti within our school. Nobody can get away with anything!

As stated, all teachers in the US have background checks. You might want to look things up before making such statements. As far as cameras, parents are the ones blocking cameras in most schools. From experience working in schools, I know that there are parents who don't want their children photographed, let alone video taped, for any reason. This occurs more often in inner city schools, but is true in any school system. Often this is because the child is being raised by a single parent who is hiding out from the other parent due to abuse and they are afraid of the image reaching the other parent. There are other reasons as well. Whatever the reason, parents are the reason cameras aren't in classrooms in most schools and that will probably never change.

Besides, classrooms are some of the safest places for children. The media is making it sound like teachers are dangerous criminals who need to be watched non-stop. The truth is that a VERY low number of abuses are from teachers. You have a much higher chance of abuse in the home or among outside family members than from any other source, but the media rarely reports on that because it doesn't sell with it being considered "common". Every profession has the possibility of having predators. Teachers aren't even anywhere near the top of the list of professions with predators.

Let yourself be spoonfed by the media if you want. Just be aware that most of what you think is true will be twisted into something not quite true, or in some cases a complete lie. If the media says something is true, take the time to look into it yourself before assuming you know the truth. Especially on a site like MSN. MSN is notorious for telling only half the story. They give just enough information to get people to start yelling so that they get more hits and more money. In many cases, the real (full) story is not even worth commenting on, but MSN spins it in such a way that people fill hundreds of pages of posts.

With all the rage against "public sector workers and the assault on unions since last year" this is just media fodder for the union bashers who want more "red meat" as far as I'm concerned. Those who are responsible absolultely s/b punished to the fullest extent of the law for what they've done to those children but this is turning to out be a friggin witch hunt and anyone who can't see that is an idiot. A school classroom is probably one of THE safest places for children compared to many of the HOMES they're coming from these days.

Many of the teachers who had nothing to do with this no matter whether they can go back to work"after the investigation is over" will likely never be able to get another job anywhere else as this goes "into their file" and it WILL. The school board will see to that. They have more power then the union does and can drum out any teacher they don't want in a school, along with the parents and businesses in that district who get them elected, aldermen, etc.

Our media is so much garbage. Start thinking with your brains people and not your a**.

Vote Walker!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mat11 ~~ I totally agree with you. In one respect, I kind-of understand the teachers being put on 'leave' while the investigation is on going. ALL the teachers (guilty of anything or not) are now under scrutiny, and a dark shadow is cast upon them ALL, whether they are guilty of anything or not, which poses an entirely new scenario.

My experience with schools (having been a substitute teacher, as well as my son's school years) shows me that in almost ALL CASES the schools always OVER-REACT when it comes to difficult situations. I understand erring on the side of caution, but I'm not in total agreement with putting the entire teaching staff on 'leave' while the investigation is on going. What I do hope for, is that these two scum bags, get their @$$es kicked (as you say). But my wish is that they NEVER be let out of prison. As long as these two take in air, they are a total threat to society, and to any child that lives and breathes.

At last, a voice of reason!! Why haven't the parents already killed the bastards?

Right on, simple. Sometimes I wonder if those who make the law and preach from the pulpit don't let it by because they do the same! with a prior offense of that nature they should be banned from a position of trust with any kids forever.

As much as I agree....if the penalty is death, then the victims have no chance.

A midyear change in teachers is an educational setback for every kid in that school.

sounds like the kind of school where no one is learning anything but street life anyway. ugh, i don't see why all you people live like ants in an anthill, fighting for jobs, food, space, you don't know your neighbors, your teachers, you're all inbred in the ghetto's; laugh at country people all you want but we will be the survivors! You people are so stupid! A whole staff walks out because of allegations? Duh, either they are all doing it or it's false, no one hates unions unless they are in one./ sheeple sheeple sheeple. hate unions they might better your life! love repugs they will let you have all the little lambs you can push outta that thing! love dems, they will give you welfare for every lamb you can squeeze out! Future voters!!! baaaa! baaaa!!! baaaaa!!!!

Unfortunately, these two teachers have been there for years, and no one...did anything to stop it.

All must go, and start all over again...New Principle, new Vice Principle and teachers...It is the LAW

in the State of California that if anyone in the public school system: teachers, to nurses to PE teachers, coaches, the administration, if they knew of any form of abuse, they have to report it: that is the law

As much as this is very difficult for the teachers: The children and their parents could never trust the

existing staff again. There has to be a new start

With 100+ staff members there is no way they could all know what was going on. That's like saying the neighbors of a serial killer should all be investigated for not reporting him, or the entire company staff should be fired because a co-worker embezzled money from the company. A lot of good teachers are now out of work (even with paid leave they will still feel ashamed to be associated with that school) and are becoming the scapegoats..

So you are okay with the abuse, Swifty? Keep sweeping it under the rug.

ozzi - feeling bad for the innocent teachers who have been place on leave (and thereby destroying their careers) doesn't mean you are okay with abuse. They are mutually exclusive feelings. They are NOT tied together. You can feel bad for both the kids who were abused & the innocent teachers who are suffering.

More than likely, no one knew what was going on. In the unlikely case that others did know, that would be limited to no more than one or two people out of the entire school. Sexual abuse is hardly considered acceptable and abusers are unlikely to confide in others because most people will do something to stop the abuse. Blaming the entire school for what a couple people do is stupid. And that doesn't in any way mean that I am okay with the abuse. The abuse was done by certain individuals, not by the entire school. You aren't to blame just because you're associated with someone who does something wrong.

Another risk in this kind of "guild by association" action is that it could discourage teachers from reporting child abuse in the future. If teachers think they might loose their job or be disciplined for merely teaching at the same school as an (accused) child abuser they are less likely to report any events they witness.

Pedagoguish, Too bad the education was semen tasting. A minor setback is okay as long as the kids are safe!

Kids are never safe as long as pedophiles and child abusers are everywhere even in their own families. What the school is doing may help a little which is better than nothing at all but a pedophile won't be denied for too long. There's no guarantee their investigation will force other teachers to snitch on each other and or they may not really know who is a pervert.