California teacher who shot secret upskirt pics, videos during classes being sued by six girls
A California teacher, who allegedly surreptitiously took upskirt photos and videos of six girls in his class last year, is now facing a lawsuit from his accusers, who also listed the school district as a defendant.
The Bloom Firm, which has represented several high profile celebrities, has filed a federal lawsuit against Chris Berdoll and the Atascadero Unified School District. According to the complaint obtained by Daily Mail, the defendants caused the plaintiffs emotional pain and suffering.
The 20-page court document cites five claims, including Masha's law — a federal law that gives victims of 'child pornography' the right to sue anyone who produces, distributes, or possesses their images. Other claims listed in the suit are federal gender discrimination in violation of Title IX; failure to perform a mandatory duty, negligent hiring, and negligence.
In September 2018, the sixth-grade teacher at the Fine Arts Academy in Atascadero was arrested on charges of sexual exploitation of a child, production of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
Berdoll convinced his students, per the lawsuit, to have lunch with him at least three or four times a week. If they refused, he would allegedly make them "feel guilty by telling them that he is 'very sad.'"
Furthermore, the 48-year-old would sometimes bring his dog to school in a bid to lure the girls into his classroom during breaks.
"When the girls managed to avoid his lunch meetings, he would find them on the playground and lurk around them while carrying his iPad," the complaint states.
At the time of Berdoll's arrest, the Atascadero Police Department said in a news release that the school district had contacted them about "the possibility of a district teacher who had inappropriately video-recorded the undergarments of female students."
Berdoll was later found to have used a phone or a tablet to secretly recorded upskirt videos of his female students between 2016 and 2018.
"It currently appears that none of the schoolchildren involved were physically molested; however, inappropriate videotaping did take place," the press release stated.
Police subsequently executed a search warrant at Berdoll's residence and recovered images and videos showing the girls' legs, crotches, and backsides from under their desks.
When the girls got up to sharpen pencils or help him hang posters on the wall, the teacher would allegedly stand behind them with his phone or iPad in hand.
Furthermore, the lawsuit states Berdoll also photoshopped images of himself engaging in sexual intercourse with his female students.
Now, the alleged victims are seeking an unspecified "full and fair compensation" in their suit.
Berdoll is currently awaiting his October 29 arraignment on 44 criminal counts related to child pornography and is out on a $500,000 bail.