Suffolk County Police today arrested a retired elementary school teacher for sexually abusing students dating back to the late 1980s.
Special Victims Section detectives began an investigation after two former male students reported that Thomas Bernagozzi, a former elementary school teacher in the Bay Shore School District, sexually abused them between the late 1980s and early 2000s. At the time of the abuse, the students were enrolled at Gardiner Manor Elementary School and Mary G. Clarkson Elementary School.
Special Victims Section detectives charged Bernagozzi, 75, of 17 Strong Ave, Babylon, with Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child 1st Degree and Sodomy 1st Degree.
Bernagozzi, who retired from teaching in 2003, will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip.
The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information on Bernagozzi is asked to call the Special Victims Section at 631-275-2302.
A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.