A former Bay Shore High School art teacher already accused of sexually exploiting a 17-year-old student has been arrested for allegedly stalking the same young woman, the latest failure in a district with a documented history of ignoring predatory behavior by staff.
John Kennedy, 53, was cuffed at his St. James, New York, home Thursday evening after Suffolk County police say his former student called 911 that morning. She told officers she spotted Kennedy following her after she left her Bay Shore home and headed toward Selden, a hamlet roughly 20 miles east on Long Island. A Suffolk County Police spokesperson confirmed the arrest in blunt terms.
The stalking arrest lands barely a week after the same young woman, now 18, filed a civil lawsuit against the Bay Shore school district. That suit accuses administrators of failing to protect her from a teacher the court papers describe as a "serial sexual predator" who, the filing alleges, repeatedly abused her inside his own classroom while the district looked the other way.
The former student's 911 call Thursday morning set the arrest in motion. She reported that Kennedy appeared to be tailing her as she drove from her Bay Shore home. Suffolk County officers responded and took Kennedy into custody hours later at his residence in St. James.
A Suffolk County Police spokesperson stated:
"Suffolk County Police today arrested a high school teacher for stalking a former student that he had sexual affairs with previously."
Kennedy could not be reached for comment. The New York Post reported it was unable to find a working phone number for him. Whether he has retained a lawyer for the stalking charge remains unclear.
The underlying accusations against Kennedy became public after the New York Post first reported in October 2025 that he had been placed on administrative leave for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old senior in his art class. Bay Shore Superintendent Steven Maloney has maintained that the district acted swiftly once it learned of the allegations, placing Kennedy on leave, barring him from campus, and alerting Suffolk County police.
But Suffolk County police initially closed their probe after finding no evidence of criminal conduct. That decision left Kennedy free, free enough, the accuser now alleges, to follow her in broad daylight months later.
Her lawyer, Andrew Silvershein, has argued that Kennedy occupied a position of power as a teacher that made the relationship inherently exploitative, regardless of the age of consent. Under New York law, the age of consent is 17, but Silvershein contends the teacher-student dynamic makes that statutory threshold irrelevant.
The civil lawsuit, filed roughly a week before the stalking arrest, accuses the Bay Shore school district of ignoring warning signs that Kennedy was grooming the student. Breitbart reported that the case highlights a broader pattern of administrative cultures that fail to report or act on red flags involving educator misconduct.
Kennedy's case is not an isolated failure for the Bay Shore school district. It is the third high-profile incident involving allegations of sexual misconduct by district employees.
In November 2024, a Suffolk County jury ordered the district to pay $25 million in damages tied to retired third-grade teacher Thomas Bernagozzi. Bernagozzi stands accused of sexually abusing students over more than three decades, from the 1970s through the early 2000s. More than 50 former students have come forward in that case. The jury found the district ignored repeated warning signs about Bernagozzi's conduct for years.
And in 2017, Marcus Johnson, a teacher's assistant at Bay Shore High School, was charged with a sexual offense against a 15-year-old student.
Three incidents spanning decades. A $25 million verdict. More than 50 accusers in a single case. And still, when a teacher was accused of exploiting a 17-year-old in his art classroom, the police probe closed without charges, and the accused man allegedly showed up near his accuser's home.
Several critical facts remain unresolved. The specific criminal charges Kennedy faces for the stalking allegation have not been publicly detailed. Whether he has been arraigned or entered a plea is unknown. It is also unclear whether Kennedy had been formally terminated by the district before Thursday's arrest or whether he remained on administrative leave, still technically a district employee, when he allegedly followed the young woman across Long Island.
The civil lawsuit's case number, the court in which it was filed, and the specific warning signs the suit alleges the district ignored have not been disclosed in available reporting. Superintendent Maloney's claim that the district "acted swiftly" has not been tested against those specifics.
No criminal charges for the underlying sexual conduct allegations have been filed against Kennedy. The earlier Suffolk County police investigation closed without finding evidence of criminal conduct, and no new criminal probe into those allegations has been publicly announced.
When a school district pays $25 million because a jury found it ignored a predator for 30 years, and then a second accused teacher allegedly stalks his accuser in broad daylight, "acted swiftly" is not a defense, it is a punchline that no student should have to hear.
