A former Long Island art teacher already accused of sexually exploiting a student when she was 17 has been arrested again — this time for allegedly stalking the same young woman, now 18, according to Suffolk County authorities.
John Kennedy, 53, was taken into custody at his St. James home Thursday evening, a spokesperson for the Suffolk County Police Department confirmed to the New York Post. The arrest came after the former Bay Shore High School student called 911 that morning, saying she spotted Kennedy after leaving her home in Bay Shore.
“Suffolk County Police today arrested a high school teacher for stalking a former student that he had sexual affairs with previously,” the police spokesperson told the tabloid.
The stalking allegation lands barely a week after the accuser filed a blistering lawsuit against the Bay Shore school district, accusing administrators of failing to protect her from what her attorneys describe as a “serial sexual predator” who repeatedly raped her in his own classroom. Court papers allege the abuse unfolded in 2025, when the student was a 17-year-old senior in Kennedy’s art class.
Teacher Was Previously Investigated, But Charges Were Dropped
Kennedy was first exposed by the Post in October after being placed on administrative leave over the alleged affair. At the time, police opened an investigation, but it was closed because the girl was at the legal age of consent under New York law.
Now, the accuser’s lawyer, Andrew Silvershein, argues in the lawsuit that Kennedy’s position of power as a teacher made the relationship inherently exploitative — and that the age of consent is irrelevant under the circumstances. The lawsuit contends the district had a legal obligation to protect the student from grooming and that administrators ignored warning signs that the abuse was underway.
Legal experts say those allegations — that the district knew or should have known — are critical for the school system to be held liable for damages.
District Defends Its Response
Bay Shore Superintendent Steven Maloney has maintained that the district acted quickly once it learned of the allegations, immediately placing Kennedy on administrative leave, barring him from campus, and notifying Suffolk police.
The case is the third high-profile incident involving possible sexual misconduct by Bay Shore teachers, according to the Post. In 2017, a teacher’s assistant at the high school was charged with raping a 15-year-old student. In 2024, the district was ordered to pay $25 million in damages in a case involving a retired third-grade teacher accused of sexually abusing students for more than three decades — with a jury finding that administrators ignored repeated warning signs.
Wider Pattern of Educator Sex Crimes
The Kennedy case is part of what leading experts describe as an epidemic of sex crimes committed by educators in the United States over the past two decades, according to a Breitbart News investigation published in March. Those experts point to a “culture of permissiveness” among administrators and fellow teachers who fail to report or accuse colleagues of suspected grooming or sexual activity in order not to “disrupt the harmony” of a school.
Kennedy, who was once described by former and current students as their “favorite” teacher, now faces stalking charges. It is unclear whether the new arrest will revive the earlier sexual abuse investigation, which was closed due to the age of consent law.
The accuser’s civil suit against the district continues to move forward.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2026/09/04/long-island-art-teacher-arrested-for-stalking-student-who-accused-him-of-rape-when-she-was-his-pupil/