A 61 year-old South Los Angeles teacher, identified as Mark Berndt, was arrested Monday and charged with 23 counts of performing lewd acts upon children, whom attended the Miramonte Elementary School. The alleged incidents occurred between 2008 and 2010 and involved boys and girls at the school, whose ages were between seven and 10 years.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Berndt had been a teacher at the school for three decades and had no prior history of arrest. The charges against him are sex crimes are considered to be serious felonies. If convicted, Berndt will be forced to register as a sex offender. The article does not say if Berndt has hired a Los Angeles sex crimes defense lawyer yet.

Law enforcement began to investigate Berndt almost a year ago after a photo processor turned over pictures to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. The photographs, which were also recovered from Berndt's home, are said to show images of children tied up and blindfolded, with Madagascar hissing cockroaches climbing on them.

Other photos depicted girls holding blue spoons containing a white substance near their mouths. Authorities believe the substance is Berndt's semen. Investigators believe the girls were forced to ingest it.

In early January of last year, law enforcement notified the school district about Berndt's suspected sex crimes. Berndt was removed from his classroom immediately and subsequently fired.

In total, over 400 images have been recovered. Some of the alleged victims have yet to be identified. Berndt is currently being held in jail. Bail has been set at $2.3 million.

Sources: www.latimes.com, "LA Teacher Charged with Lewd Acts on 23 Children," 31 January 2012, Richard Winton

and www.latimes.com, "Teacher Abused Students During Class, Detectives Say," 31 January 2012, Richard Winton