Dozens of felony charges have been filed against an Atascadero Unified School District teacher arrested earlier this month on suspicion of producing child pornography.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office says of the 44 counts filed Friday against Chris Berdoll, 24 of them allege that the 48-year-old used underage children “to pose or model alone and with others for purpose of preparing photographs to depict child pornography.”
The other 20 counts are related to possessing child pornography.
Berdoll, a sixth-grade and visual arts teacher at the Atascadero Fine Arts Academy, was placed on leave after the district says it was made aware of the allegations earlier this month.
“During the course of the ongoing investigation, several additional victims were identified leaving the total number of known victims at this time to be twenty children,” the DA’s office, which has been reviewing the case since Sept. 13, said in a press release.
Anyone who believes their child may have also been victimized or knows of any other potential victims is urged to contact the Atascadero Police Department at (805) 461-5051.
Berdoll posted bail, which was raised to $500,000, shortly after his Sept. 10 arrest and remained out of custody Friday, according to jail logs.
He is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Monday morning in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.
Calls to the Atascadero Unified School District Friday afternoon requesting the status of Berdoll’s employment have not yet been returned.
