Bay Shore Teacher Accused Of Sexually Abusing Student Arrested For Stalking: Police

BAY SHORE, NY — A Bay Shore High School art teacher who is at the center of a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing a former student was arrested Thursday after police said he stalked an 18-year-old woman who had previously been his student.

John Kennedy, 53, of St. James, was charged with fourth-degree stalking, Suffolk County Police said.

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Police said the woman noticed Kennedy following her from her home to Selden Thursday morning. After arriving at her destination, police were called at about 10:40 a.m.

Kennedy was arrested at his Moriches Road home in St. James at 4:10 p.m., police said.

An investigation by Sixth Precinct Crime Unit officers determined Kennedy previously had a sexual relationship with the woman when she was 17 and a senior at Bay Shore High School last year, according to police.

Investigators also said Kennedy had been seen driving past the woman's home multiple times during the past several weeks.

Police could not confirm whether the woman Kennedy is accused of stalking is the same former student who filed a lawsuit against the Bay Shore Union Free School District last month.

Bay Shore Superintendent of Schools Dr. Steven Maloney said Thursday night that the district had been notified of Kennedy's arrest.

"This evening, we were informed by the Suffolk County Police Department that an employee of the Bay Shore School District was arrested today," Maloney said in a statement to Patch. "We have also been informed that the incidents did not occur on District property."

Maloney said Kennedy has been on administrative leave and barred from district property since October 2025.

"As this is a law enforcement matter, the District is not able to provide further information," Maloney said.

The arrest comes weeks after a former Bay Shore High School student filed a lawsuit against the district alleging Kennedy groomed and sexually abused her when she was 17.

The lawsuit, filed Aug. 14 in Suffolk County Supreme Court, alleges Kennedy used his position as an art teacher to gain the student's trust and sexually abused her from approximately June through October 2025, including inside his classroom at Bay Shore High School.

Kennedy is not named as a defendant in the civil lawsuit. The Bay Shore Union Free School District is the defendant.

The lawsuit alleges district employees received "several anonymous written complaints" about Kennedy's conduct with female students before the alleged abuse and that a district human resources representative confronted Kennedy about those complaints.

The complaint also alleges Kennedy openly referred to the student as his "favorite," touched her hair, massaged the back of her neck and allowed her to spend significant amounts of time in his classroom.

The lawsuit further claims Bay Shore High School Principal Stephen Gordon and guidance counselor Michelle Plett met with the student and her mother regarding concerns that Kennedy was acting inappropriately toward her.

According to the lawsuit, Kennedy continued to have access to the student after that meeting and school employees continued to observe her spending time in his classroom.

Kennedy was being held overnight at the Sixth Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday at First District Court in Central Islip, police said.

Detectives are asking anyone with information about the case, or anyone who believes they may be a victim of Kennedy, to contact the Sixth Precinct Crime Unit at 631-854-8626.