LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Unified School District will pay $139 million to end all remaining litigation involving an elementary school teacher convicted of committing numerous counts of lewd conduct against his students, according to the settlement announced Friday.
The deal involving 82 students puts a legal end to the saga that began when Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt was arrested in 2012 and accused of blindfolding students and feeding them his semen on cookies.
Plaintiff’s lawyers had planned to present evidence suggesting the school district was aware of sexual misconduct by Berndt three decades ago but failed to act until a photo processor at a pharmacy contacted police about film Berndt dropped off that showed pictures of blindfolded children and being fed some substance.
The case led to an overhaul of how the nation’s second-largest school district handles allegations of sexual abuse. After Berndt’s arrest, the district removed all 130 staff members from the school and placed them at an unopened empty campus during the lengthy investigation.
“Our goal from the outset of these appalling revelations has been to spare the Miramonte community the anguish of a protracted trial, while at the same time being mindful of the financial consequences stemming from settlements,” Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines said in a statement. “Given these circumstances, we believe we struck a balance between those objectives.”
Berndt was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading no contest to 23 counts of lewd conduct.
The settlement reached during jury selection is in addition to $30 million the district previously agreed to pay to settle 65 other cases involving Berndt.
Lawyers in the case said it’s believed to be the largest settlement involving a school district.
“They were afraid of a blow-the-roof-off verdict to reach this kind of settlement,” said Mary Jo McGrath, a lawyer not involved in the case who trains school administrators around the country. “The hope of this is that it hurts really bad for the school district and wakes people up.”
Plaintiffs’ lawyers said they uncovered evidence that LAUSD had destroyed potentially thousands of child abuse reports and logs that had been maintained for decades.
Several fourth-grade girls had complained in the early 1990s that Berndt was masturbating in class, but the allegations were dismissed and the girls were accused of lying.
