Child psychologist takes the stand at former Bay Shore teacher Thomas Bernagozzi's sexual abuse trial

A child psychologist called by prosecutors at the trial of a former Bay Shore teacher accused of sexual abuse gave jurors a tutorial on Monday about how predators groom their victims and why some children remain silent even after years of abuse.

Anne Meltzer, a Westchester child psychologist, said survivors respond to sexual abuse in various, and sometimes confusing ways, such as remaining in contact with their abusers even after the illegal sexual contact ends.

"It is often the opposite of how we think they might act," Meltzer said, responding to questioning from Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney MacDonald Drane as the trial of former educator Thomas Bernagozzi, 77, continued in Riverhead.

Meltzer said she was speaking in general terms and that she had not interviewed the two alleged victims in this case or spoken to Bernagozzi. She has not reviewed other witness testimony, police records or other documents, she said.

Meltzer told the jury that most child sex abuse cases are perpetuated by people the child knows — a relative, coach, teacher or other trusted adult in an authority position. Sexual predators "groom" their victims — develop close emotional ties with vulnerable children by showering them with attention, gifts and special outings. As a result, she said, victims become attached to their abuser.

"They don’t want that person to get in trouble," she said.

Most victims are abused multiple times over an extended period of time, according to Meltzer, and many do not disclose the abuse for months, years, even decades. Some are too embarrassed, she said, while others remain silent because they were threatened or rewarded for their silence. Some children don’t understand what had happened to them. Many do not want to bring turmoil to their families.

"Some children," Meltzer explained, "want to live their lives to go on as normally as possible."

Older child victims are less willing to report abuse than younger children, Meltzer said, and boys are less likely to disclose than girls. Men are supposed to be tough and independent, she said, and sexual abuse by male relatives, coaches or teachers raises confusing questions about their own sexuality.

Bernagozzi, 77, is charged with sodomy and sexual conduct against a child for the alleged abuse involving two students, both of whom attended Bay Shore elementary schools but were assigned to other teachers in third grade, the level he primarily taught between 1970 and 2000.

One of the students was 4 years old when the alleged abuse began in the late 1980s, he testified last week. The other was 7 when he met Bernagozzi nearly a decade later, according to his testimony. In both instances the alleged abuse continued for several years, they said.

Bernagozzi is also facing five counts of possession of a sexual performance of a child for five photo negatives that show another former student posed at Jones Beach with his genitals exposed, police witnesses testified.

Under cross examination by defense attorney Steven Politi, of Central Islip, Meltzer said false allegations of sexual abuse "occasionally occur," but under redirect from Drane, she said false allegations account for 2% to 8% of total accusations. False allegations are often made by parents seeking leverage in child visitation or custody battles, she said.

"The bigger problem is kids who deny it and don’t want to talk about it," Meltzer said.

Prosecutors were expected to rest on Monday, but acting Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis called an early recess after a pipe burst at the Riverhead courthouse. Water first poured into the hallway outside Wilutis’ courtroom and then drenched much of the gallery before the judge called it a day.

The trial is scheduled to resume Tuesday morning, although as Wilutis told the jurors before she dismissed them it may be in a different courtroom.