Los Angeles Unified agreed to pay out $139.2 million to settle 85 remaining lawsuits in the Miramonte Elementary School sex abuse scandal, just days before opening arguments in the civil case were set to start.
Including previous agreements, the district will pay about $169.2 million to end 150 claims stemming from abuse committed by former teacher Mark Berndt and the district’s failure to stop him.
LAUSD General Counsel Dave Holmquist said the settlement will provide for the future needs and health of those students, while allowing the school district and the South Los Angeles campus to continue healing.
“This is really a continuation of what we’ve been trying to do from the very beginning,” Holmquist said Friday.
The settlement agreement was reached at 10 p.m. Thursday, Holmquist said. Judge John Wiley will review each victim’s case to determine how the dollars are divided before finalizing the settlement, Holmquist said.
Brian Claypool, a Pasadena-based attorney representing one of Berndt’s former pupils, her mother and other victims, said one girl was so damaged by the abuse that she idealizes suicide and doesn’t want to be married when she grows up. The girl, he said, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“The depth of trauma these children and their families have endured is extensive and it’s likely to be lifelong,” Claypool said. “They’re going to need help for the rest of their lives and they needed an amount of money that reflected that.”
Berndt was convicted of molesting the girl and other students. He was sentenced to 25 years behind bars on Nov. 13, 2013.
District officials, including school board member George McKenna, allegedly knew about the investigation into Berndt in time to stop Berndt from victimizing her again. However, they allegedly let him stay inside a classroom where he fed the girl his semen one last time, according to allegations made in court documents filed by Claypool.
In sworn testimony, a Torrance police sergeant said he called the school’s principal Nov. 18, 2011, and described 48 pictures of children with tape over their mouths, blindfolded, posed with Berndt and, in some, ingesting a substance later identified as semen, according to transcripts.
The photos had caught the attention of a CVS employee, who called police after Berndt dropped them off to be developed. The district and the principal, Martin Sandoval, however, claimed administrators didn’t understand law enforcement was investigating an abuse case, so when students returned from break Jan. 3, 2011, Berndt was still inside a classroom.
During the interim, a sheriff’s abuse investigator also called Sandoval, seeking to interview Berndt and students, according to the investigator’s sworn testimony.
Under district policy, Sandoval was required to report suspected child abuse to McKenna, who was then area superintendent, or his designated subordinate, according to the district’s policy in 2011.
McKenna was elected to the school board in August. Sandoval is currently the principal of President Avenue Elementary School in South Los Angeles. Sandoval testified that he has never been criticized by McKenna or any other boss for his handling of Miramonte, in fact he was told he did his work “well,” according to transcripts of Sandoval’s sworn testimony.
Additionally, a third administrator allegedly knew about the investigation in time to stop Berndt from allegedly molesting the girl again but continues to hold a high-level position in district administration, according to LAUSD’s website.
Decades before police were tipped to Berndt’s activity in 2011, administrators knew about Berndt’s sexual deviancy, according to court documents.
Los Angeles Unified had numerous reports dating to 1983, when he allegedly exposed himself to students on a field trip, according to court documents and Claypool.
During the 1990-91 school year, LAUSD brought in a counselor to meet with students who claimed Berndt had masturbated in front of them, according to court documents. The students were allegedly told “not to make up lies” during the counseling session, according to the lawsuit. Parents were not notified, and Berndt was allowed to continue teaching.
A fellow teacher reported that Berndt exposed himself to another teacher and her classroom of students in July 1993. The principal at that time told the teacher there was nothing she could do because “Berndt had tenure,” according to the lawsuit.
In 1994, a Suspected Child Abuse Report was filed after a student told her mother that Berndt touched her inappropriately. Berndt was not disciplined in that incident, according court records.
LAUSD attempted to bury Berndt’s history, which was only revealed through the investigative efforts of lawyers who initially refused to settle, Claypool said.
“Had we accepted the settlement two and a half years ago we would have never found out the truth,” Claypool said.
Superintendent Ramon Cortines stated LAUSD has implemented a number of new safety measures including a specialized investigative team, a 72-hour deadline for notifying parents when an employee is removed for alleged misconduct and participation in a statewide audit of policies.
“But for any of these efforts to be truly successful, we must always work together as partners with you,” Cortines wrote in a letter about the settlement to parents and community members Friday.
Only time will tell whether LAUSD will “do the right thing” and protect children, Claypool said.
“We don’t want the lessons learned from Miramonte to just be forgotten after the checks are written,” Claypool said. “We want them to be taken in earnest by administrators at LAUSD to implement the necessary procedures to safeguard children.”
