Teacher sex abuse trial: Second former student testifies about alleged abuse by Thomas Bernagozzi

A former Bay Shore student told a Suffolk jury on Wednesday he was sexually abused by a third grade teacher starting at the age of 4 when he would accompany his older brother on outings with the educator.

The witness, whom Newsday is not naming because he is the alleged victim of a sex crime, is the second student to testify at the trial of former Bay Shore teacher Thomas Bernagozzi n Suffolk County Criminal Court in Riverhead. He said the alleged abuse occurred when he was showered and changed by Bernagozzi, who would apply baby powder to his private parts on trips to a local fitness club, beaches and a public pool.

"He would kneel down when he would apply the powder and for some reason he would blow it off," the former student told the jury seated before acting State Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis. "He would give it a little kiss down there."

The witness said the alleged abuse began when his brother was a third grade student and he was in pre-K in 1989 and it continued until the summer of 1992. It happened multiple times at various locations, he testified.

Bernagozzi, 77, of Babylon, is charged with a single count of sodomy for an incident of "oral sexual conduct" with the student in the summer of 1992. He is also charged with course of sexual conduct against a child and five counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child for allegations involving two other students at Gardiner Manor and Mary G. Clarkson elementary schools, where Bernagozzi taught from 1970 to 2000.  Bernagozzi has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

When Assistant District Attorney Dana Castaldo asked when the abuse stopped, the witness at first said the spring of 1992, outside of the time period in the indictment. After being provided with a transcript of prior testimony he gave a grand jury, he changed his testimony to say "the summer of '92."

The exchange drew a strong objection from defense attorney Steven Politi, of Central Islip, who was overruled by Wilutis.

After direct testimony concluded Wednesday morning, the judge asked the defense attorney, who repeatedly objected to the prosecutor’s questions, to stop having "outbursts" in the presence of the jury.

"I don’t think it was an outburst," Politi said. "It was an objection."

"It was an outburst," Wilutis shot back, banging her gavel as she walked off the bench for the break.

During his testimony, the former student said he has never met either of the other complainants in the case and said he never reported the abuse to his parents. 

Asked if he knew why he never reported the abuse, the complainant said "no."

He testified his parents were going through a divorce and his father moved out around the time he was seeing Bernagozzi for after-school sports and outings, which included attending Islanders games. His brother or other students joined them on the trips, he said. The jury saw images taken from negatives seized from the former teacher's home that depicted the former student on outings.

While the former student’s brother had Bernagozzi as a teacher, he did not. He told the jury the teacher would buy Christmas presents for him and his brother.

"A lot," he said. "Boxes."

Suffolk police opened the investigation into Bernagozzi after 45 former Bay Shore students filed Child Victims Act claims against the district alleging the retired teacher sexually abused them, prosecutors have said. Most of the lawsuits, which were allowed under a look-back window from 2019-21, involved 8-year-old boys who were students in his classes or participated in an after-school sports program he ran. Prosecutors have said only the allegations in the indictment could be charged due to statutes of limitations.

In his opening statements last week, Politi told the jury that the former students who were testifying in the criminal trial “fabricated” their abuse allegations for the “singular purpose of making money,” Newsday has reported. While on the stand Wednesday afternoon, the former student indicated that he was involved in a civil suit against the Bay Shore school district.

During cross-examination of the former student Wednesday afternoon, Politi asked about his family’s financial hardships during his youth, his reliance on selling drugs to make money after dropping out of high school, his arrest for driving under the influence and his employment history. Politi noted the witness recently bought a home.

When she returned to the podium, Castaldo asked the witness whether he lied about the alleged abuse for money. The witness replied: “Absolutely not.”

After saying that he did not wish to discuss the alleged abuse and confirming to Castaldo that he never told his mother about it, the witness’ lower lip quivered slightly and he wiped his eyes with a tissue.

Shortly after 5 p.m., the judge released the jury for the day. The trial is scheduled to resume Thursday morning.