Teacher Stealing Lunch Money from Kids Backpacks

Pictured- Student hid in locker

How much are they being paid?
To resort to stealing money from kids backpacks.

According to the Daily Mail - A student hid in the locker to videotape the thief in the act.

A California high school student staged an undercover video sting operation to catch a thief in the act of stealing money from kids' backpacks. But to her surprise, the footage captured a teacher rummaging through students' belongings.

Linden High School sophomore Justine Betti decided to hide in the locker in hopes of busting the crook who has been plundering cash from book bags during gym class for the past year.

After all the students left the room, a teacher hung back, went through the kids' bags and took money, according to Betti. When the girl told her friends about it, nobody believed her

Determined to obtain definitive proof, the sophomore once again concealed herself inside a locker on February 13, this time armed with a cell phone camera to catch the teacher red-handed. A second camera was set up in another locker.

She did not have to wait long: both video recordings made by Betti show a figured believed to be the educator opening several backpacks and methodically going through them.

'I didn't want to believe that she would do something like that because she was so nice, but then she did it,' Betti told KXTV. 'It was really scary. I was like "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I just got this on video."'

After watching the incriminating footage a couple of times, the amateur sleuth took the evidence to the school principal, who promised to investigate the allegations and asked her to delete the video.

By that point, however, Betti said she had already sent the footage to her father, and several of her friends who were in on the sting also shared it with others.

The teacher in question has not been identified, but several students said she has been at the school for 30 years and described her as a 'great teacher.'

The woman has been placed on administrative leave pending an inquiry by the Linden School District and the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department, ABCNews.com reported.