A former Long Beach teacher was sentenced Tuesday, Oct. 17, to 80 years to life in state prison for sexually assaulting three underage girls, two of whom were either his student or former student.
Judge Laura Laesecke called Mark Anthony Santo, 54, a “predator” and a “danger to the community” and said his decision to walk out before his victims spoke in court of the impact his actions have had on them was “cowardly.” She then handed down the sentence in Long Beach Superior Court.
“What you’ve just missed was the irreparable harm you’ve inflicted on these young ladies,” Laesecke said, adding that Santo’s demeanor throughout the trial was of someone who was still in complete denial of the harm he had caused.
Jurors in June found Santo guilty of two counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 and one count each of forced sexual penetration, oral sex, assault with intent to commit forced oral sex and assault with intent to commit forced penetration, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Laesecke noted the verdict “basically came back in a heartbeat.”
One of the victims told the court she viewed Santo as a father and that he is still the first person she thinks about after enduring trauma in her life. She detailed the struggle of feeling the need to support him, but also speaking out against his actions.
“He has control over me still,” she said. “He’s always in my head.
“I not only hear his advice, I feel his hand on me,” she added. “I feel his unwanted kisses, the compliments, the messages. Why didn’t I notice what he did to me?”
The Southern California News Group does not name victims of sexual assault in most cases.
The three victims who testified in the case spoke at Santo’s sentencing, but Santo told the judge he did not want to listen to what they had to say and was led out of the courtroom.
“I’ve already heard these lies,” he said. “I do not want to hear them again.”
Two of the victims told the court that Santo’s decision to walk out only further proved his guilt.
Santo worked at Lindbergh Middle School, Long Beach Poly High School and Jordan High School, all under the umbrella of the Long Beach Unified School District. Santo taught government and history classes while at Jordan High School. He resigned from the district in 2018.
Santo was arrested at his Cypress home in May 2020 on suspicion of committing lewd acts on a 13-year-old girl, who was a family friend, according to the DA’s Office. Additional charges were filed after two more victims came forward.
Santo testified in his own defense during trial and accused the victims of lying or misconstruing messages meant to be supportive.
Laesecke said Santo had two opportunities to take plea deals before the case went to court.
Instead, Santo “forced these young women to relive that behavior and tell strangers about the intimate details of that behavior,” Laesecke said. “Then you take the stand and call them liars.”
A second victim, who is now the mother of a two-year-old boy, said she struggles when she has to leave her child with someone else and constantly watches home security cameras when she’s at work.
She said she moved to Nevada before her sophomore year of high school and requested a change in teachers after she found all of them were men. She eventually dropped out of school.
She said the trial was one of the hardest things she’s ever had to endure.
“He’s just a predator,” she told the court. “He was not my friend, or someone I could trust.”
She called his actions a “path of destruction,” which included the manipulation of his own family.
Laesecke said evidence in trial showed Santo lured children into his classroom with candy, treats and massages and kept a back entrance open so kids could spend time with him, all of which she said were red flags. After he was allowed to resign from LBUSD, she said, he tried to find another teaching job.
Of the victims, Laesecke acknowledged the sentencing wouldn’t provide complete closure, but hoped it would help in the healing process.
“I hope this can be the beginning of a new life,” she said.
