Another teacher has been accused of lewd conduct within the Los Angeles Unified School District, making two such accusations this week, police say.
Miramonte Elementary School teacher Martin Bernard Springer, 49, is accused of fondling two of his 7-year-old student in his classroom. Capt. Mike Parker of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told the Los Angeles Times: "They were approximately 7 years old at the time of the incidents. … The investigation is continuing."
The accusations came only three days after the arrest of another Miramonte Elementary School teacher, Mark Berndt.
Berndt, 61, is accused of spoon-feeding his semen to blindfolded children as a part of a so-called tasting game. He took hundreds of photos of the practice, many showing the children with a milky white substance around their mouths.
Students and parents had gone to administration before with allegations of lewd behavior, but Berndt was never charged with anything before.
Springer reported for work Friday to a Los Angeles Unified office with no class to teach, where he will continue to report until his investigation is complete.
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Indiana official guilty of voter fraud
Feb 04, 12:31 PM
Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White was convicted Saturday of deliberately voting from the wrong address in the May 2010 primary.
White, a Republican, automatically forfeited his job when the jury found him guilty of six of seven felonies, The Indianapolis Star reported. He said he plans to ask the judge to reduce the charges to misdemeanors when he is sentenced, which might allow him to return to office.
In 2010, White was a member of the town council in Fishers, an Indianapolis suburb. Prosecutors said he used his ex-wife's address because he had moved out of his district.
The jury returned its verdict at about 2 a.m. Gov. Mitch Daniels issued a news release before 3 a.m. announcing he had appointed Jerry Bonnet, White's deputy, as interim secretary.
"I have chosen not to make a permanent appointment today out of respect for the judge's authority to lessen the verdict to a misdemeanor and reinstate the elected office holder," Daniels said. "If the felony convictions are not altered, I anticipate making a permanent appointment quickly."
A judge has ruled in a lawsuit brought by the Democrats that White was ineligible to run in 2010 because he was voting from the wrong address and that Vop Osili, his opponent, is the secretary of state. That decision was stayed while Republicans appeal.
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Five are arrested at Syrian embassy protest
Feb 04, 11:28 AM
By DIANA PILKINGTON
FIVE people were arrested today after gaining entry to the Syrian embassy in London as a protest erupted at the building, Scotland Yard said.
Around 150 demonstrators descended on the embassy in Belgrave Square amid reports of more than 200 people killed in a deadly barrage in the city of Homs.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said a number of people were arrested for public order offences after the demonstration broke out at 2am and "appropriate policing" was in place.
The Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Officers are at the scene and appropriate policing is in place.
"Five males gained entry to the building. They've been arrested."
Syrian forces killed at least 200 people and wounded hundreds in shelling attacks early today, in an offensive that appears to be the bloodiest episode in the nearly 11-month-old uprising, activists said.
The offensive was reported in the city of Homs, one of the main flashpoints of opposition to the regime during the uprising against President Bashar Assad.
The reports could not be confirmed independently, but two main opposition groups, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Co-ordination Committees, said the death toll was more than 200. More than half of the killings -- about 140 -- were reported in the Khaldiyeh neighbourhood.
It comes as the United Nations Security Council prepares to meet today to take up a much-negotiated resolution backing an Arab League peace plan for Syria.
(c) 2012 Belfast Telegraph. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.
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Blast at Marine housing complex kills one
Feb 04, 10:25 AM
An explosion at a family housing complex for U.S. Marines in northern California killed one person and burned two others, officials said.
Marine officials said 38 families had to be evacuated from the Lincoln Military Housing Neighborhood in Coleville, about 30 miles from the Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
The explosion apparently was started by a propane leak, Marine officials said. The blast and subsequent fire damaged seven homes, Marine officials said.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents and Marine Corps fire investigators are helping Cal-Fire and Mono County authorities assess the damage and determine the exact cause of the explosion.
The facility provides training in cold-weather and high-altitude combat techniques.
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Ukrainian president says ex-premier may be treated outside jail
Feb 04, 10:08 AM
Text of report by commercial, news-based 5 Kanal TV on 4 February
[Presenter] [Jailed former Prime Minister] Yuliya Tymoshenko may receive medical treatment outside the Kachanivska prison, President Viktor Yanukovych has told a news conference following his meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Munich.
The president stressed that Ukraine would be grateful to foreign specialists for their help in treating Tymoshenko. However, the treatment should be provided on the territory of Ukraine, Yanukovych said.
[Yanukovych] Ukrainian legislation does not envisage going abroad to receive treatment [for prisoners]. That is why we are ready to provide conditions in Ukrainian health care establishments. If it is necessary to carry out a medical examination outside the prison, we will look to find a solution within the framework of law.
Originally published by 5 Kanal TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1300 4 Feb 12.
(c) 2012 BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.
