A teacher at a California primary school has been suspended amid shocking claims that children engaged in oral sex and took off their clothes in class. Pupils aged just seven or eight are believed to engaged in the acts at Markham Elementary School in Oakland last week. The male second-grade teacher, whose name has not been released, told investigators he did not see any of the alleged incidents. He has been barred from the campus until the investigation has been completed.
One incident is said to have involved several students who partially undressed and acted disruptively during class, while the other involved pupils who engaged in oral sex, district officials said. Parents of students at the school have been informed of what has happened through a letter. Troy Flint, a spokesman for Oakland Unified School District, said: 'We believe if the reports are true, there was a serious lapse of judgement or lack of supervision in the classroom.
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'We're investigating how could this have happened. It seems unthinkable to us, just the same way it does to the public.' Principal Pam Booker learned of the allegations last week after a pupil gave an account to a teacher's assistant, Mr Flint said. The letter sent to parents said: 'Upon hearing these reports, we immediately launched an investigation which, to date, suggests that the reports have merit.
'We have interviewed all the student participants who were implicated, as well as their teacher, and we continue to investigate the matter aggressively.' Ms Booker added in the letter: 'I apologise for this and assure that we are collaborating with counsellors and parents to provide support to those involved, address any concerns and take whatever actions are necessary to ensure that a similar act does not occur again.' Mr Flint stressed that none of the pupils was accused of wrongdoing. 'It's an incident of kids expressing their natural curiosity that went too far because an adult didn't step in,' he said.
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