Teacher's Sexual Abuse Case Settled By Bay Shore UFSD: Report

BAY SHORE, NY — The Bay Shore School District has settled a lawsuit filed by a former student who said he was sexually abused by a third-grade teacher facing multiple charges, according to a report from Newsday.

According to the outlet, the lawsuit was settled between the school district and a former student who alleged that third-grade teacher Thomas Bernagozzi, 75, of Babylon.

Bernagozzi sexually abused him over a three-year period in the late 1980s, one of 45 Child Victims Act claims filed against the district involving the teacher, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.

The lawsuit is the first uninsured claim against the district to settle, Newsday said.

“We were able to reach a settlement agreement of this case,” attorney Lewis Silverman of Silverman & Associates in White Plains told State Supreme Court Justice Christopher Modelewski in Newsday's report.

Silverman was not immediately available for comment.

Bernagozzi was indicted on multiple counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child on June 18 for allegedly possessing five images of a former minor student with his genitals exposed, according to Tierney.

Prior to that, 45 lawsuits were filed by alleged victims against the Bay Shore school district and Bernagozzi under the New York State Child Victims Act, the DA said.

On December 21, 2023, Bernagozzi was arrested and indicted on charges of first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child and first-degree sodomy relating to the alleged sexual abuse of two former students, the DA said.

Bernagozzi is alleged to have run school plays and after-school sports, and would, on his own time, take groups of children to the local beaches, pools, gym, Broadway shows and sporting events, the DA's office said.

During his tenure, the DA's office alleged, Bernagozzi was revered by both fellow teachers and staff, as well as parents residing in the district who would specifically request that their children be placed in Bernagozzi’s class. His classes were allegedly comprised predominantly of male children, the DA's office said.

Anyone with additional information regarding Bernagozzi should contact Detective Patrick Boyles of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Special Victims Section at 631-275-2302.