A report released by the Atascadero Unified School District details the accusations against a former teacher charged with making and possessing child pornography.
Chris Berdoll was a sixth grade and visual arts teacher at the Atascadero Fine Arts Academy until his resignation this September.
The Title IX Report, released after Public Records Act Requests by the media, includes the results of an investigation conducted by a law firm retained by the district.
Twelve students were reportedly interviewed as part of the investigation and several of them claimed to have witnessed Berdoll taking videos of other students’ crotches and backsides with his cell phone or tablet.
In one instance, the report says “Student Four was wearing a dress and standing up during testing in Mr. Berdoll’s sixth grade math class. As Mr. Berdoll sat in his rolling desk chair assisting Student Four and/or other students, he reached out with his smart phone to where Student Four was standing and placed it under Student Four’s dress with the camera lens faced up. Witnesses reported that Mr. Berdoll held his phone under Student Four’s dress for several seconds and even touched the bottom fringe of Student Four’s dress as he positioned his smart phone under her dress.”
The report says the behavior had occurred since at least the beginning of the current school year.
Berdoll has pleaded not guilty to 44 counts.
He was placed on leave from the Atascadero Unified School District on August 31 and arrested on September 10. He resigned from the school district a couple of weeks later and had his teaching license suspended by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
According to the Title IX report, Berdoll was certified to work as a teacher in Texas in 1999 and in Utah in 2009. “He therefore has served as an educator overall for nearly twenty years,” the report reads, “and thus should be familiar with applicable rules, regulations, policies and laws, and should also know the importance of demonstrating leadership, good judgment, and professionalism.”
Click here to read the full report.
Berdoll reportedly collected a little more than $7,400 in pay while on leave.
He posted bail shortly after his arrest and remains out of custody.
Previous coverage:
44 felony child pornography-related charges filed against Atascadero teacher
Atascadero teacher accused of sex crimes resigns, taken off paid leave
State board suspends credentials for Atascadero teacher accused of sex crimes
Former Atascadero teacher pleads not guilty to making, possessing child pornography
