Judge orders LAUSD to turn over evidence in Miramonte case

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A civil lawsuit accusing the Los Angeles Unified School District of knowingly harboring a teacher who was later convicted on 23 counts of lewd acts with students is set to begin in November, but attorneys are already gearing up for the fight.

At the center of the case are questions over what the district knew about the sexual misconduct. Former teacher Mark Berndt is serving out a 25 year criminal sentence after he was accused of blindfolding students and spoon-feeding them his semen on cookies.

"On Nov. 4, this community is going to find out that for 25 years the LAUSD knowingly harbored a child predator and created a major safety risk for kids throughout all schools in Los Angeles," the plaintiffs' attorney Brian Claypool said.

On Monday, a judge ordered the district to submit by the end of the week a Sept. 22 declaration that plaintiffs attorneys believe show more than 200 suspected child abuse reports scanned into the district's system in 2008.

The declaration was supposed to have already been submitted, but the district says there are errors in it that need to be addressed with the district clerk who signed it. That clerk is on medical leave.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs say they want the original version, not a potentially altered version.

"I was unhappy she gave them until Friday to turn over a declaration," plaintiff attorney Luis Carrillo said. "That means they have five extra days to try to pound the employee into giving a false version because the district is unhappy with the version she signed on Sept. 22."

A representative for LAUSD said the district plans to meet the judge's deadline and submit the clerk's declaration by Friday.

"We want to make sure everyone has accurate information in this case," Sean Rossall, spokesman for LAUSD's office of general counsel and outside attorneys on the Miramonte case. "We're going to work hard to comply with court's request and get them that information by Friday."