Thomas Bernagozzi sexual abuse case: Dozens of alleged victims may take the stand at trial of ex-Bay Shore teacher, prosecutors say

Dozens of alleged victims of a former Bay Shore teacher charged with sexually abusing a pair of students during his 30-year career may be called to testify when his trial begins next month, prosecutors said at a hearing Monday.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is seeking permission to call 36 additional witnesses to provide alleged evidence of abuse by Thomas Bernagozzi that prosecutors said could not be charged due to a statute of limitations on the alleged crimes, which occurred as far back as the early 1970s.

Assistant District Attorney Dana Castaldo argued at Monday's hearing before acting State Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis in Riverhead that the additional witnesses are needed to establish that Bernagozzi "engaged in a common scheme or plan" to abuse children throughout his career in the classroom, which ended when he retired in 2000.

"While this application includes 36 additional individuals, we know that this a mere fraction of the scope of this defendant's conduct over his 30-year career," Castaldo told the judge.

The additional testimony beyond the two cases alleged in the indictment will "complete the narrative of events and provide background information for the jury," Castaldo wrote in her application filed in August.

Bernagozzi was arrested on Dec. 21, 2023, and charged with sodomy and sexual conduct against a child involving two former students. He pleaded not guilty in State Supreme Court in Suffolk in January 2024. The single count of sodomy relates to a student who was 4 years old when Bernagozzi allegedly abused him from September 1989 to January 1990, court records state. The charge of sexual conduct against a child involved another student who was between 8 and 10 years old when Bernagozzi allegedly abused him from November 1997 to January 2000, the records show.

He was later charged with five counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child for photo negatives he kept at his Babylon home that show the exposed genitals of an 8-year-old former student he taught between 1987 and 1989 as he sat nude on a bench and cement ledge at a beach.

Defense attorney Steven Politi, who is representing the 77-year-old retired third-grade teacher, has opposed allowing the testimony of any students not included in the indictments, arguing the "cumulative prejudicial effect" of the testimony would "far outweigh any evidential value."

"Their testimony does absolutely nothing to prove an element of the crimes [Bernagozzi] is currently facing," Politi, of Central Islip, argued in an October response to the prosecution's request. "They are offered to inundate the jury with the logical fallacy of ‘He did it before, therefore he did what is alleged.’ ”

Castaldo indicated during Monday's hearing that Wilutis has asked prosecutors to "pare down" the number of uncharged acts it seeks to introduce at trial. The prosecutor said the government would need to call between 15 and 20 of the former students in order to complete its argument, a number Politi argued Monday is still unreasonable.

"Even one witness is too many," he told the judge, who said she would issue a decision when Bernagozzi returns to court next Monday, Dec. 22. Jury selection is expected to begin Jan. 12.

Suffolk police and prosecutors opened the investigation into Bernagozzi after 45 former Bay Shore students filed Child Victims Act claims alleging the retired teacher sexually abused them. Most of the lawsuits, which were allowed under a look-back window in the law, involved 8-year-old boys who were students in his classes at Gardiner Manor and Mary G. Clarkson elementary schools or participated in an after-school sports program he ran.

Since his arrest in December 2023, 26 additional alleged victims and eight witnesses have come forward, prosecutors have said. Castaldo said a police report filed in the 1990s that did not result in charges and about 11,000 photo negatives of former students that Bernagozzi kept at his house could be presented as evidence at trial.

A Newsday investigation published last year found the Bay Shore school district kept Bernagozzi employed despite sexual abuse allegations spanning decades.

The Bay Shore district has reached settlements in 42 of the 45 lawsuits, according to records reviewed by Newsday.

The district has paid $62.75 million to settle 19 lawsuits in amounts ranging from $500,000 to $4.5 million, and has recently reached agreements with 17 other former students that are pending approval. Insurance companies have covered the settlement amounts in six other cases, records show.

The only civil case that went to trial ended with a jury awarding the plaintiff $25 million, but Bay Shore appealed and a judge suggested the two sides settle at around $4 million. That appeal and two additional lawsuits are ongoing.

Newsday investigative reporter Jim Baumbach contributed reporting to this story.

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.