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Photo credit: New York State Education Building in Albany, via Wikimedia Commons.
Nearly 2,000 lawsuits filed under New York’s Child Victims Act allege childhood sexual abuse involving schools or school personnel, according to a new investigation of court records.
The74million.org reviewed thousands of court filings across all 62 New York counties and identified at least 1,973 complaints involving a school, educator or other district employee.
That represents more than 18% of the 10,787 Child Victims Act cases filed statewide or nearly one out of every five cases.
The allegations involve public, private and religious schools and span decades, with some alleged abuse dating to the 1950s and other incidents occurring as recently as 2018.
More Than 1,000 Claims Involve Public Schools
Public schools accounted for the largest category identified by the investigation.
Of the 1,973 school-related cases, The 74million found:
| School or District | Location | CVA Claims / Allegations |
|---|---|---|
| Our Lady of Mount Carmel School | Bronx | At least 64 cases involving one former school employee |
| Bay Shore Union Free School District | Suffolk County | 44 complaints involving former teacher Thomas Bernagozzi |
| Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District | Erie County | 35 cases involving former teacher Arthur Werner |
| LaSalle School | Albany | At least 34 complaints spanning allegations from 1950 to 2010 |
| Herricks Union Free School District | Nassau County | More than 20 former students brought cases involving former school psychologist Vincent Festa |
| Syracuse City School District | Onondaga County | Among 26 school-based CVA complaints filed in the county |
| Children’s Village | Westchester County | At least 52 CVA complaints involving the residential school and treatment facility |
| McQuade Children’s Services | Orange County | At least 11 CVA cases involving allegations spanning several decades |
Source: The 74’s review of New York Child Victims Act court filings. Its full searchable database includes school-based cases filed across 54 counties.
Catholic schools accounted for 724 of the 791 religious-school complaints. Another 23 involved Protestant schools.
The accused included teachers, coaches, administrators, counselors, bus drivers, psychologists and other adults who had access to students through their positions.
The investigation also found repeated allegations that schools had received warnings about misconduct but failed to intervene, or that accused employees were allowed to remain in positions where they continued to have access to students.
School Abuse Claims Spread Across 54 New York Counties
The 1,973 school-related lawsuits were filed across 54 of New York’s 62 counties.
New York County, which includes Manhattan, had the largest number with 345 school-related complaints, followed by the Bronx with 256 and Kings County, which includes Brooklyn, with 227.
In some counties, schools represented a particularly large share of all Child Victims Act litigation. Approximately 36% of Suffolk County CVA cases involved schools, while the figure approached 40% in the Bronx. In Franklin County, school employees were named in approximately 75% of the CVA cases identified by the investigation.
Most New York Child Victims Act Cases Remain Unresolved
The investigation also highlights how slowly many Child Victims Act cases have moved through New York courts.
New York enacted the Child Victims Act in 2019, creating a temporary window that allowed survivors to bring lawsuits that previously would have been barred by the statute of limitations.
A total of 10,787 CVA cases involving 14,592 plaintiffs were ultimately filed.
As of February 2026, approximately 8,000 cases had advanced beyond their initial filing. Fewer than 3,000 had been settled or otherwise resolved, leaving nearly 63% still pending, according to court data analyzed by The 74.
The backlog varies considerably by county. Nearly 80% of cases that had become active in Brooklyn remained unresolved, as did 79% in Manhattan and approximately 75% in the Bronx.
Nassau County was an exception. Courts there had resolved 606 of 681 cases, leaving about 11% pending. More than 100 of Nassau County’s Child Victims Act cases involved schools.
Some Districts Have Faced Dozens of Claims
The statewide review also identified schools and districts facing repeated allegations involving the same former employees.
The Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District in Erie County was named in 35 CVA cases involving former fifth-grade teacher Arthur Werner. The district ultimately paid $17.5 million to settle the cases in 2022.
On Long Island, former Bay Shore elementary school teacher Thomas Bernagozzi was named in 44 complaints. As of January 2025, the Bay Shore Union Free School District had paid more than $55 million to settle 17 cases, according to The 74. Another 24 cases were later settled for undisclosed amounts.
Bernagozzi was separately convicted in a criminal case involving three former students and sentenced in May 2026 to between 33⅓ and 50 years in prison.
Child Victims Act Revealed Scope of School Abuse Allegations
One of the consequences of New York’s Child Victims Act has been the ability to see patterns that were previously difficult to identify.
Individual allegations that once appeared isolated can now be viewed alongside hundreds of other cases involving schools across the state.
The new investigation suggests that schools were involved in a significant portion of New York’s revived childhood sexual-abuse claims, and that years after the lookback window closed, many survivors are still waiting for their cases to be resolved.
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