Former teacher Mark Berndt sentenced to 25 years

Mark Berndt, a former teacher, was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison for committing lewd acts against nearly two dozen Los Angeles children. Berndt, who taught at Miramonte Elementary School for three decades, pleaded no contest to 23 counts of lewd conduct. The allegations against him included spoon-feeding semen to blindfolded children, feeding them semen-tainted cookies and placing cockroaches on their faces.
Read more: Miramonte teacher sentenced to 25 years in prison for lewd conduct

Mark Berndt, 62, right, sits with his attorney Manny Medrano in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday, where he pleaded no contest to 23 counts of lewd conduct with students at the school where he taught.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Superior Court judge George Lomeli listens as former teacher Mark Berndt pleads no contest.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)