The “game” conceived by California’s Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt, 61, was a tasting test during which he kept the children blindfolded, sources familiar with the investigation said.
Mark Berndt, 61, who taught elementary school for 30 years, was charged with molestation after photos surfaced showing bound and gagged children, some with roaches, and some with what appears to be spoons of semen
Berndt is accused of committing lewd acts on at least 23 children, including blindfolding them and spoon-feeding them a white substance that authorities say was the teacher’s semen.
Children told investigators that they were being enlisted in a tasting game, according to a district source who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak. They were supposed to say whether the substance was sweet or salty and whether they liked the taste. The blindfolds were necessary, Berndt allegedly said, “because he was going to put on bright lights to take the pictures and he didn’t want to hurt their eyes.”
