TEACHER ACCUSED OF REPEATEDLY ABUSING 17-YEAR-OLD STUDENT IN CLASSROOM AS TEEN SUES SCHOOL DISTRICT
TEACHER ACCUSED OF REPEATEDLY ABUSING 17-YEAR-OLD STUDENT IN CLASSROOM AS TEEN SUES SCHOOL DISTRICT
BAY SHORE, LONG ISLAND — A 53-year-old high school art teacher is facing disturbing allegations after a former 17-year-old student filed a lawsuit accusing him of repeatedly sexually abusing her inside his classroom — while claiming school officials failed to protect her despite multiple warnings.
The lawsuit, filed against Bay Shore High School and the surrounding school district, accuses former art instructor John Kennedy of exploiting his position of authority over the teenager between June and October 2025.
The allegations are contained in a civil complaint and have not been proven in court. Kennedy has not been convicted of a crime related to the accusations. Suffolk County police previously investigated the allegations but closed the criminal case after determining there was insufficient evidence of criminal conduct.
‘FAVORITE TEACHER’ ACCUSED OF CROSSING A DANGEROUS LINE
Kennedy had reportedly been regarded by students as a popular teacher at Bay Shore High School.
But according to the lawsuit, the relationship between Kennedy and the teenager allegedly became increasingly inappropriate.
The student claims Kennedy would call her his “favorite” and allegedly made her sit at his desk while he massaged her neck.
The lawsuit further alleges that he groped the girl and subjected her to repeated sexual abuse during the months before the school finally removed him from his position.
The complaint describes Kennedy as a “serial sexual predator” who allegedly abused the student and other students during his employment.
Those claims remain allegations made in the lawsuit.
HER FAMILY SAYS THE SCHOOL WAS WARNED
Perhaps the most serious part of the lawsuit is not only what the student alleges happened — but what her family claims school officials knew.
According to the complaint, the teenager’s parents repeatedly raised concerns about Kennedy and his interactions with their daughter.
In September 2025, about a month before Kennedy was suspended, the girl’s mother allegedly contacted school officials, including Principal Stephen Gordon and guidance counselor Michelle Plett, and pleaded with them to prevent Kennedy from having contact with her daughter.
The lawsuit claims the school nevertheless failed to adequately separate or supervise the teacher and student.
Then, in October, officials reportedly discovered sexually suggestive text messages between Kennedy and the teenager.
He was subsequently suspended.
The district says its response was immediate once the allegations were formally brought to its attention.
A SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO ADDED TO THE WARNING SIGNS
The lawsuit also points to an unsettling social-media episode.
A classmate reportedly uploaded a video of Kennedy to TikTok. According to the complaint, comments beneath the video included accusations that the teacher flirted with students.
The school district allegedly demanded that the video be removed.
The lawsuit claims, however, that officials did not take action over the allegations contained in the video’s comments.
That detail has become part of the teenager’s broader argument that warning signs were visible before the school finally removed Kennedy.
POLICE INVESTIGATED — BUT THE CASE WAS CLOSED
The allegations eventually triggered an investigation by the Suffolk County Police Department.
But police ultimately closed the case, saying they did not find sufficient evidence of criminal conduct.
That decision is now an important part of the legal landscape surrounding the civil lawsuit.
The teenager’s lawsuit is a separate proceeding, meaning the family can pursue claims against the school district even though the criminal investigation did not result in charges against Kennedy.
The lawsuit accuses the district of negligence and argues that school officials failed in their responsibility to protect a student under their supervision.
ATTORNEY: ‘HE USED HIS POSITION OF POWER’
Attorney Andrew Silvershein, who represents the teenager, argues that the case is fundamentally about the power imbalance between a teacher and a student.
“At the end of the day, this guy was a teacher in a position of power over a student,” Silvershein said, alleging that Kennedy used that authority to groom and abuse her.
The attorney has also made broader allegations about the school district’s handling of previous accusations involving educators.
He specifically cited former teacher Thomas Bernagozzi, alleging that the district had previously protected individuals accused of misconduct.
Those broader claims would have to be established through the legal process.
SCHOOL DISTRICT DEFENDS ITS RESPONSE
Bay Shore Superintendent Steven Maloney strongly disputed the suggestion that the district ignored the allegations.
He said the district took action as soon as the matter came to its attention in October 2025.
According to Maloney, Kennedy was placed on leave, barred from school property and reported to police. The district also said it fully cooperated with the police investigation.
That creates a central dispute in the lawsuit:
Did school officials act as soon as they reasonably could — or were earlier warnings ignored until the situation became impossible to overlook?
A CASE THAT RAISES BIGGER QUESTIONS
The lawsuit goes beyond the allegations against one teacher.
It raises difficult questions about how schools respond when students, parents or classmates report inappropriate behavior involving an educator.
Teachers occupy positions of trust and authority, and schools have a responsibility to maintain boundaries between adults and students.
For the teenager and her family, the lawsuit represents an attempt to hold the school district accountable for what they believe was a failure to intervene.
For the district, the case presents a very different question: whether officials responded appropriately once they received information that could be substantiated.
For now, those competing accounts will be tested in court.
THE ALLEGATIONS REMAIN JUST THAT — ALLEGATIONS
Kennedy has been accused of serious misconduct, but the civil complaint is not a criminal conviction, and the Suffolk County police investigation did not lead to criminal charges based on the evidence available to investigators.
The school district maintains that it acted immediately when the matter was brought to its attention.
As the civil case moves forward, the court will have to examine what Kennedy allegedly did, what school officials knew, when they knew it and whether more could have been done to protect the student.
What began as allegations involving a teacher and one teenager has now become a much larger legal battle over trust, institutional responsibility and the duty schools owe to students in their care.
