Another California Teacher Accused of Sexual Abuse

I didn’t think the story I wrote last week about sexual abuse charges against two California teachers could get much worse.

The crimes the teachers were charged with were shocking, to say the least. While one teacher would play the “lollipop game” with his second-grade student which entailed blindfolding her while she gave him oral sex, another teacher would feed his semen to students in what he called the “tasting game.”

Well, I was wrong.

At Miramonte Elementary School where Mark Berndt, the teacher accused of playing the “tasting game” with his students was working, another teacher has since been accused of sexual abuse. Martin Bernard Springer, 49, a second-grade teacher, has been accused of allegedly fondly two young girls in his classroom. Springer has been removed from the school as an investigation is underway.

What’s even more horrifying than yet another teacher being removed from the school for sexual abuse is news that various reports against Berndt were ignored over the years.

In fact one parent reports having showed inappropriate pictures of Berndt with his daughter and another young girl in 2008, but the principal took no immediate action. In addition, two former students of Berndt’s told a school counselor they believed he had been masturbating behind his desk while in class during the 1990-92 school year, but were told not to make up stories.

Imagine if both these reports had been taken more seriously? How were these reports not taken more seriously?

It’s horrifying to think that reports of inappropriate behavior – especially of this magnitude – would not be taken seriously by school administrators. Children deserve a safe and nurturing place to learn and grow. That means investigating alleged wrongdoing seriously and swiftly.

What do you think? Could Berndt’s most recent crimes have been avoided?

Related from Care2:

California Teachers charged with Heinous Sexual Abuse Crimes Against Students

Teacher Naps, Student Get Suspended

Teacher Exchanged 47,000 Texts With Sexual Abuse Victims

Photo credit: Photo by Marlith used under a Creative Commons license.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Debbie C.

3:56PM PST on Mar 2, 2012

Mark Berndt and Martin Bernard Springer are poor excuses for teachers, let alone as men.

What makes them think they can get away with this sort of behavior? Especially Berndt, since he already had reports against him that the principal took no action on.

I think the schools should invest in putting cameras in classrooms to record such incidents, or to prohibit them in the first place.

send a green star

Eternal G.

6:33PM PST on Feb 24, 2012

Noted.

Norma V.

9:24PM PST on Feb 12, 2012

Bury our heads in the sand and maybe these allegatins will go away...predators are found everywhere. Time to take our children seriously and do our best to keep them safe from abuse.

Gina D.

5:08PM PST on Feb 10, 2012

Lock them in a room with the parents!!!!

Megan S.

6:32PM PST on Feb 8, 2012

Ewww, that's so gross..!!
It really makes you respect men who are... well, respectable.

CAROLYON H.

12:14PM PST on Feb 8, 2012

Wow those poor kids what is wrong with these people who abuse kids?

nancy b.

2:11AM PST on Feb 8, 2012

a disgrace

Parvez Z.

9:38PM PST on Feb 7, 2012

These teachers are disgrace to teaching profession Parents must play important role by being friendly with their children and ask them such as what is happening in school or about the teacher etc they can easily find out and action to be taken against these teachers and they should be behind bar for long time, but at same time the school administration cant be absolved of their responsibility

Gloria M.

9:13PM PST on Feb 7, 2012

So very sad and horrible.

David A.

8:47PM PST on Feb 7, 2012

Jonathan N.
8:38pm PST on Feb 7, 2012
Only when teachers have the power to self-police and aren't controlled by appointed administrators will things like this subside.

How do you come to that conclusion? The initial problem was unacceptable behavior on the part of a couple of teachers. You are saying that if they were left to police themselves with no one with supervisory authority over them then they would not have molested children? Isn't this like saying that you should get rid of the sheep dog and let the wolves police themselves so that they won't bother the sheep?