Suffolk jury finds Bay Shore school district liable for failing to investigate sex abuse allegations against former teacher Thomas Bernagozzi 

A Suffolk jury on Thursday found the Bay Shore Union Free School District was liable of negligence in supervision and acted with reckless disregard for keeping a third grade teacher employed despite multiple allegations he sexually abused students.

The jury of four men and two women seated before Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Christopher Modelewski unanimously agreed the district was 100% liable for the alleged abuse of an unidentified plaintiff by former teacher Thomas Bernagozzi. The damages phase of the trial is scheduled for Friday.

The jury was unanimous on all six questions on the verdict sheet, which included determining Bernagozzi by "a fair preponderance of credible evidence" engaged in conduct that constituted a sexual offense. Unlike in criminal trials, the burden is not beyond a reasonable doubt and only five of six jurors need to agree.

The jury also found Bay Shore's retention of Bernagozzi was a substantial factor in causing injury to the plaintiff. Newsday does not name alleged victims of sexual abuse or assault in anonymous cases.

"Reckless behavior is when you know something’s dangerous and you don’t stop it," plaintiff’s attorney Jeffrey Herman, of Herman Law Group in Manhattan, said during his closing argument Wednesday. "Knowing a child molester is in the school that you leave [teaching] is one of the most reckless things a person can imagine taking place."

Bay Shore schools Superintendent Steven Maloney, who did not serve in that position while Bernagozzi was employed as a teacher, declined to comment, but the district notified the school community of the liability verdict and informed them of the upcoming damages phase of the trial.

"The District remains committed to the health, safety, and well-being of all students and will provide further updates as the legal process continues," the email stated. 

Lewis Silverman, an attorney for the Bay Shore school district, did not deny that Bernagozzi abused students during his closing argument, but said the evidence at trial did not show the district had actual notice of the abuse. Silverman had asked the jury to apportion 100% of the damages to the former teacher, who he called a "master manipulator."

"A diabolical and evil person," Silverman said of Bernagozzi as he addressed the jury Wednesday. The district had countersued Bernagozzi, seeking to hold him responsible for damages.

Bernagozzi’s attorney, Samuel DiMeglio, of Huntington, said such labels were designed to deflect blame for the alleged abuse from the district, whom he had argued should be held fully liable for the damages.

Silverman and Herman both declined to comment following the verdict, which Silverman sought to have set aside. 

"There was no evidence of a lack of an investigation and there's no evidence that the district simply failed to act and was intentionally disregarding and conscious indifference to [the plaintiff's] rights," Silverman said in making his motion to set aside the verdict.

Asked by Modelewski if he sought to join that motion to set aside the verdict, DiMeglio declined.

"The jury has spoken," DiMeglio told the judge. "It's a fair verdict that was given regardless of whether my client acted with intention or it was denied or proven."

The judge denied Silverman's motion.

The damages portion of the case will begin Friday with the plaintiff expected to testify again about the impact of the abuse. The plaintiff’s mother and medical experts for both sides will also testify Friday. The same jury will remain intact to determine the damages. 

The plaintiff, identified only as P.L. in the Child Victims Act claim filed in 2021, was a student in Bernagozzi’s third grade class at Gardiner Manor Elementary School during the 1990-91 school year. He testified that he was 8 to 9 years old when Bernagozzi sexually abused him by touching him inappropriately while he sat on the teacher’s lap, showered with and was changed by him. The alleged abuse took place in the classroom at the school, during after-school programs Bernagozzi ran or on outings to a health club, a public beach and swimming pools, the plaintiff said.

Bernagozzi, 75, of Babylon, who is facing criminal charges for sodomy, sexual conduct against a child and possession of child sexual abuse materials, denied abusing any students during his 30-year tenure with the district as he testified from the Suffolk County Jail Monday. He has also pleaded not guilty to criminal charges. 

A mother of another alleged victim of Bernagozzi told the jury she reported the abuse of her son to a school principal in 1987, three years before the plaintiff was enrolled in the teacher’s class. She testified that she was deceived into believing Bernagozzi was a good teacher who went above and beyond for his students through the after-school programs and outings.

 Former school security guard Robby Hubbard testified he reported to the head of security around 1988 alleged abuse by Bernagozzi that he said happened when he was a student in the teacher’s class beginning in 1973.

The jury also heard directly from four other former students who made similar allegations of alleged abuse or corroborated the plaintiff’s testimony during four days of testimony.

Two fathers told the jury they expressed concerns to principals in the mid-1980s about the extra time Bernagozzi was spending with male students years before the plaintiff attending school, including taking boys swimming and driving them home after class. They said they were unaware of the alleged abuse.

Each of the parents who testified said they never notified police. 

The Child Victims Act is a state law that opened a temporary window for alleged victims of child sex abuse to file claims seeking damages. The window to file lawsuits ended in 2021. Before the law, victims of childhood sexual abuse could not file claims once they reached 23 years old.

Bay Shore faced 45 Child Victims Act lawsuits citing Bernagozzi, the most of any Long Island district. Five cases were previously settled by the district for $20.25 million and two claims were settled through insurance. Thirty-seven  lawsuits are pending.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.