# Nearly 2,000 New York school abuse cases revealed > A landmark investigation uncovers the scale of sexual abuse in schools, showing how institutions enabled predators for decades. - Title: Nearly 2,000 New York school abuse cases revealed | Shortify - Summary: A landmark investigation uncovers the scale of sexual abuse in schools, showing how institutions enabled predators for decades. Nearly 1 in 5 of New York's… - Keywords: child sexual abuse, new york schools, child victims act, institutional abuse, grooming, sexual predators, school safety, catholic schools, residential schools, statute of limitations, civil litigation, institutional cover-up - Source: Mother Jones — https://motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/decades-of-harm-new-york-schools-named-in-nearly-2000-child-sex-abuse-claims - Author: Amanda Geduld - Published: 2026-09-23T07:30:00+00:00 - Read time: 5 min - Topics: child sexual abuse, new york schools, child victims act, institutional abuse, grooming, sexual predators, school safety, catholic schools, residential schools, statute of limitations, civil litigation, institutional cover-up ## Coach's decades of abuse finally exposed Vincent Dutkowski, a gym teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie, sexually molested a star athlete in the 1960s. The victim waited 39 years to come forward, only to be told the statute of limitations had expired. > He called me Irish. 'Irish. Get in the car.' And I'm a 17-year-old kid trying to maintain my varsity status. ## New York law opens floodgates of cases In 2019, New York passed the Child Victims Act, allowing survivors to sue during a two-year lookback window and extending the civil statute of limitations to age 55. This resulted in 10,787 cases filed by 14,592 plaintiffs. ## Schools named in nearly 2,000 complaints An investigation found at least 1,973 complaints accusing a school, educator or district personnel of abuse. That means more than 18 percent of all New York CVA cases, or nearly 1 in 5, involve school-based sexual abuse. ## The numbers are even higher in some counties In Suffolk County, 36 percent of all cases involved schools. In the Bronx, nearly 40 percent. In Franklin County on New York's northern border, survivors in 75 percent of CVA cases accused school employees. > That's an insane number for one period of time where a window was open. And how many possibly couldn't file after the window had closed. ## Abuse spanned nearly 70 years The complaints detail abuse dating from the 1950s to 2018. In many cases, school leaders had been told of ongoing abuse and turned a blind eye, allowing it to continue unchecked. ## Grooming laid groundwork for abuse Complaint after complaint describes how physical abuse came after years of grooming. This included encouraging students to stay after school, offering rides home and getting enmeshed in their personal relationships. > He crawled into your life. He got complete trust. ## Survivors carry lasting psychological harm Survivors report depression, anxiety and substance abuse disorders. Many feel guilt and blame themselves. One victim developed PTSD and alcoholism, tracing his addiction to the abuse he suffered as a teenager. > The number one (pattern) is that they all feel it was their fault. That they feel guilt. That they feel that they caused this. ## Most cases still waiting for resolution Of 10,787 CVA cases filed, roughly 8,000 had progressed beyond initial filing by February 2026. Just under 3,000 had been settled, leaving nearly 63 percent still pending. Victims in their 60s and 70s continue waiting for justice. ## Rudy Tremaroli abused hundreds over 30 years At Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in the Bronx, Tremaroli worked as a janitor and basketball coach. He is accused of abusing hundreds of children over three decades, described as one of the most prolific pedophiles in the Archdiocese of New York. > In the middle to late 1980s, in an effort to convince a victim that his repeated sexual assaults were appropriate, Tremaroli bragged that he had seen the penises of most of the male students. ## Arthur Werner abused boys in plain sight A fifth-grade teacher in Erie County, Werner was named in 35 Child Victims Act cases for abusing boys from 1962 to 1992. His behavior was so bold that victims said classmates regularly watched him assault boys in the classroom. ## Vincent Festa called 'the Molester' by students A child psychologist at a Long Island middle and high school, Festa's behavior was so blatant that students and teachers openly called him 'Festa the Molester.' Reports of abuse in 1978, 1979 and 1981 were ignored. He remained employed for a dozen years. ## Thomas Bernagozzi: prolific serial predator A third-grade teacher in Bay Shore, Bernagozzi was named in 44 CVA complaints. In February 2025, he was convicted of sexually assaulting three former students and sentenced to 33 and one-third to 50 years in prison. The district has paid over 55 million dollars to settle cases. ## Victim ignored after reporting abuse L.J. reported his abuse to his mother, who confronted the principal and Bernagozzi. The physical abuse stopped but Bernagozzi was not fired. L.J. had to remain in his class and was isolated and ignored for the rest of the year. > I swear to God, I still am getting chills right now, that there were multiple victims after me, after they knew. ## Residential schools endemic with abuse Over 200 CVA cases were filed against residential treatment centers and facilities. Children sent there by social services or courts were highly vulnerable. Many were already traumatized and dealing with disabilities or mental illnesses. ## LaSalle School: decades of abuse hidden Founded in 1854, LaSalle School in Albany is named in at least 34 complaints spanning 1950 to 2010. Alleged abusers included priests, brothers, counselors, teachers and coaches. One became a trustee and another received a memorial service after his death. ## Children's Village: ritual abuse by peers and staff Children's Village in Westchester is named in at least 52 CVA complaints from 1965 to 2009. Cases allege ingrained patterns of sexual assault where younger boys were preyed upon by older students and staff in a ritual called 'plucking.' ## Conrad Mainwaring groomed Olympic athlete's student A former Olympic track athlete, Mainwaring started coaching at Nottingham High School in Syracuse in 1980. He groomed student Bob Druger over months, telling him the sexual abuse was part of his athletic training to build mental fortitude. ## Grooming is a process, not a single act A 2025 study found grooming behaviors in 100 percent of 24 school-based abuse cases examined. Survivors often take decades to recognize abuse as such because of the calculated, predatory grooming process used by perpetrators. > Grooming is a process, not an act, and it involves behaviors that looked at individually, like gift-giving, emotional dependency, are ambiguous. ## New York lacks grooming law protections Twenty states have passed laws specifically defining grooming as a felony. New York is not one of them and doesn't currently criminalize or define grooming children, though it has patchwork laws criminalizing elements of it. ## Institutions must prioritize children over reputation Experts argue that schools and their employees actively empower abusers by prioritizing institutional reputation over child safety. When someone is identified, protecting that one person potentially endangers hundreds of children past, present and future. > If we don't address the ecosystem of enabling, not a damn thing will change. ## Key takeaway Nearly 1 in 5 of New York's 10,787 Child Victims Act cases involve school-based sexual abuse, revealing systemic failures to protect children and a pattern of institutions prioritizing reputation over safety.