Atascadero teacher who took indecent videos of girls agrees to plea deal, 3 years in prison
A former Atascadero teacher accused of secretly taking indecent videos of girls in his class pleaded no contest on Tuesday to 25 criminal felony charges, and now faces three years in state prison and registration as a sex offender.
The plea agreement, however, is much less than the maximum and well below what the District Attorney’s Office was seeking.
Chris Lynn Berdoll, 52, was an instructor at the Atascadero Fine Arts Academy when he was accused of using his smartphone or tablet to record the backsides, legs and crotches of female students in his sixth-grade math class.
Berdoll appeared in a court Zoom hearing Tuesday and agreed not to dispute 24 felony counts of using a minor for a sex act and one felony count of possession of child pornography.
The three-year sentence recommended by Judge Jesse Marino is substantially less that the maximum Berdoll faces for the crimes, which, according to Deputy District Attorney Danielle Baker, could have totaled as many as 19 years in prison based on the maximum criminal exposure of the charges.
According to court records, the DA’s Office offered a plea agreement that would have resulted in a seven-year prison sentence for the former teacher.
But Marino said in court that “the likely consequences” for Berdoll would instead be a three-year term in state prison, a plea deal Berdoll agreed to under the guidance of his defense attorney, Ilan Funke-Bilu.
Marino said a sex offender registration status means Berdoll would be prohibited from teaching or working around children, a condition the defendant acknowledged.
Baker, however, said that she’s not in agreement with the plea terms, adding that it was reached between the defense attorney and the judge and “was not a plea of the people.”
The prosecutor argued that the traditional plea bargaining process between the defense and prosecution should be the basis for the penalty, not an effective “judicial plea bargaining” process.
Berdoll’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 16 at 1:30 p.m. in Judge Jesse Marino’s courtroom.
Victim representatives react
Six adult representatives of the victims attended Tuesday’s hearing live in the courtroom, where the monitor broadcasting the hearing and remote appearances of the parties faced the judge.
Victims and family representatives aren’t being identified by The Tribune because the case involves sex crimes against children.
“We were aware of the three-year (prison sentence plea terms) and that the prosecutor wanted seven years,” the family member said. “It could have been higher. We’ve been coming to the court for every hearing for the past three years. It has been a lot.”
Outside the courtroom after the hearing, another family member said the deal “brings closure” and that she looks forward to seeing Berdoll, who has been free on $500,000 bail, surrender to prison custody.
“I can’t wait,” she said.
Marino said the SLO County Probation Department will review the case and issue a sentencing recommendation.
The judge said he could potentially change his ruling to increase the prison sentence terms after the probation recommendation, but if that were to occur, Berdoll would have the option to withdraw his plea, potentially advancing the case toward trial.
“He would be clear to withdraw the plea,” Marino said, referring to any increase in the agreed prison sentence terms.
Case details
Berdoll had taught at the Atascadero Fine Arts Academy for seven years when the accusations came to light in August 2018. He was placed on paid administrative leave on Aug. 31, 2018, arrested Sept. 14 and formally resigned from his position on Sept. 27.
A Title IX report detailing the Atascadero Unified School District’s investigation described at least seven instances in the first two weeks of the 2018 school year in which Berdoll used his smartphone or tablet to record the backsides, legs and crotches of female students in his sixth-grade class.
In each of the scenarios described in the report, Berdoll clandestinely recorded his students so brazenly that at times he ended up touching their bodies or clothing in the process.
Berdoll was arrested after Atascadero school district officials contacted police about a teacher suspected of inappropriately taking videos of female students’ undergarments.
Ultimately, he was accused of committing crimes against 14 adolescent female students from September 2017 and August 2018.
Representatives of the victims are expected to issue statements at the sentencing hearing on Dec. 16.
Some charges previously dropped
In April 2020, Marino rejected a motion filed by Funke-Bilu that sought to suppress all evidence investigators obtained from Berdoll’s Google Pixel 2 cell phone and smart watch, as well as any observations made by the arresting officers and any statements made by Berdoll, due to an alleged illegal search, according to a past Tribune story on the case.
But in August 2020, Marino granted a defense motion to sever the prosecution’s complaint against Berdoll, essentially dismissing 19 of the initial 20 felony charges of possession of child pornography.
In that motion, Funke-Bilu cited case law that differentiated between the production and the possession of child pornography.
Funke-Bilu wrote that all of the alleged images of child pornography involved in the case came from a single search of Berdoll’s home.
“Nine devices were seized at the time and place. One possession equals one charge,” he wrote. “The statutory focus in (the law) is on the defendant’s possession, not the individually, identifiable minors who are victimized by each separate possessor.”
After granting the motion, Marino ordered the county District Attorney’s Office to file an amended complaint that includes 24 felony charges of using a minor for a sex act, and one felony charge of child pornography — all of the charges that Berdoll admitted to in his plea.
This story was originally published October 26, 2021 at 7:12 PM.
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