LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- A former Miramonte, Calif., teacher pleaded no contest Friday to 23 counts of lewd conduct and was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, court records said.
Mark Berndt, 62, an elementary school teacher for 30 years, was arrested in 2012 after a drugstore photo technician alerted authorities to images of blindfolded children on film Berndt left for processing, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The lewd conduct charges included allegations he spoon-fed semen to blindfolded children in a "tasting game" and applied live cockroaches to their faces.
Using more than 400 of Berndt's photographs, investigators tracked down former students and conducted dozens of interviews, but it was Berndt's DNA on a spoon and a container of semen found in his classroom that led prosecutors to bring charges, the newspaper said.
The case was concluded after all involved agreed it was essential to avoid having children testify in court.
"The last thing Mr. Berndt wants to see is those 23 children walk to that witness stand," attorney Manny Medrano said.
