Overview
- Suffolk County police arrested John Kennedy, 53, at his St. James home Thursday and charged him with fourth-degree stalking after a former student called 911 saying he followed her from her Bay Shore home to Selden.
- Police say Kennedy had a sexual relationship with the woman last year when she was a 17-year-old senior, and detectives are asking the public to contact the Sixth Precinct Crime Unit with tips.
- The woman, now 18, filed a civil lawsuit last week accusing the Bay Shore School District of failing to protect her and alleging Kennedy groomed her and engaged in more serious sexual abuse from June through October 2025.
- A prior Suffolk County inquiry was closed because the student was above New York’s age of consent, but the plaintiff’s lawyer argues a teacher’s authority can make such a relationship exploitative and civil claims remain viable.
- The district says it placed Kennedy on administrative leave in October 2025 and that the alleged incidents did not occur on school property, and the case adds to recent, high-profile legal battles over Bay Shore’s handling of past abuse claims.