Teacher's aide under probe over love letters

LOS ANGELES (AP):

Officials at an elementary school rocked by teacher sex abuse claims are investigating yet another allegation of misconduct, this one involving a 50-year-old teacher's aide accused of sending love letters to an 11-year-old boy.

The mother of the fourth-grader told the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/z9XilN) that the aide, a woman in her 50s, sent at least three letters to her son in 2009, including one that read: "When you get close to me, even if you give me the chills I like that. Don't tell nobody about this!"

The allegations come as school district administrators move to replace the entire staff at Miramonte Elementary School as the Los Angeles Unified School District investigates two veteran teachers arrested last week.

Mark Berndt, 61, is charged with committing lewd acts on children, ages six to 10, between 2005 and 2010. The alleged acts include blindfolding children, feeding them semen, taping their mouths, and photographing them in a "game".

The furor led to two parents coming forward last Thursday to complain that teacher Martin Springer, 49, who had worked at the school for 26 years, fondled two second-grade girls in his classroom.

Springer pleaded not guilty on Tuesday after he was charged with committing lewd acts upon one girl in 2009. Bail was set at US$300,000.

Police have set forth no connection between the cases, but parents' confidence has been badly shaken.