Favorite teacher raped LI student in classroom while district failed to protect her from heinous serial sex predator: lawsuit
A teen former Long Island student who claims she was raped in a classroom by a popular art teacher is suing the school district for allegedly failing to protect her from the twisted “serial sex predator.”The ex-student was groomed by now-fired Bay Shore High School instructor John Kennedy, 53, starting last year when she was 17 years old — leading up to sick acts in which he forced her masturbate him and perform oral sex, penetrated her with his fingers and performed oral sex on her in his classroom, court documents claim.“Kennedy was at all relevant times a serial sexual predator who sexually assaulted and abused Plaintiff and other students throughout his employment,” alleges the scathing complaint, which does not name the accuser.The instructor — who many students once described as their “favorite teacher” — used his position of power to gain her trust before abusing her between June and October 2025, according to the Suffolk County Supreme Court filing.The Bay Shore Union Free School District meanwhile repeatedly looked the other way as Kennedy’s grooming played out in plain sight — kissing the teen repeatedly, exposing himself and groping her both over and under her clothes, openly professing in front of other students that she was his “favorite” during class, letting her work at his desk as he massaged her neck and playing with her hair while sitting close enough that their legs would be touching, according to the complaint.Though the student was of the legal age of consent in New York at the time of the alleged abuse, and the Suffolk County Police Department’s investigation was closed after finding no evidence of criminal conduct, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Andrew Silvershein, argues in the suit that as a teacher, Kennedy occupied a position of power that made the relationship inherently exploitative, regardless of the age of consent.Silvershein claims the district did not even take action to stop the instructor — despite reports ...