A teenage girl is suing her school after accusing a teacher of repeatedly raping her. The 17-year-old, who has not been named, says she asked numerous times for help from the school but was ignored - which allowed the abuse to continue.
Allegations of abuse in the classroom
She claims teacher John Kennedy, 53, committed acts of sexual abuse inside his classroom in Long Island against her, and at times even committed the abuse in front of others. Pupils previously called Kennedy, formerly an art instructor at Bay Shore High School, their “favourite teacher,” but a new lawsuit filed against the school claims that Kennedy abused a female student in front of the class – and that the school turned a blind eye.
In documents detailing the evidence against him, the girl claimed she would be forced to sit at his desk while he massaged her neck and called her his “favourite.” She also claims he groped her and repeatedly forced her into sex acts between June and October 2025.
School response and investigation
The complaint states: “Kennedy was at all relevant times a serial sexual predator who sexually assaulted and abused Plaintiff and other students throughout his employment.”
Suffolk County Police Department previously launched an investigation into Kennedy but later shut the case after finding no evidence of criminal conduct. The school district was also said to have received multiple accusations against Kennedy from the student’s parents and others, the suit alleges, but nothing was done initially. Instead it took a further four months, in October, for the school to suspend Kennedy.
Just four weeks earlier the girl’s mother had begged the school – including the head and guidance counsellor - to stop Kennedy having contact with her daughter, but she claims the school allowed contact to continue and failed “to adequately supervise or separate” the two. Text messages of an allegedly sexual nature were then discovered between himself and the teen.
Legal action and district statement
A classmate of the girl even posted a video of Kennedy to TikTok – with the comment section flooded with accusations that the art teacher would flirt with his students.
“At the end of the day, this guy was a teacher in a position of power over a student, and he used his position of power to groom her and abuse her” said prosecuting lawyer Andrew Silvershein.
Bay Shore Superintendent Steven Maloney said the district acted quickly in response to the allegations by placing Kennedy on leave, barring him from district property and alerting the police. He said: “When the matter was first brought to our attention in October 2025, the District took immediate action. The Suffolk County Police Department was immediately notified and the District fully cooperated throughout their investigation.”
