Huntington teacher fired after abuse allegations surfaced, record shows
Former Huntington High School teacher Brian Stellato as seen in the 2009 yearbook. Credit: Huntington Library
The Huntington school district fired its longtime band director several months after a former student accused him in a lawsuit of sexually abusing her more than a decade ago, an allegation he denied, newly obtained records show.
Huntington’s board of education approved the district’s request to terminate Brian Stellato from his role as director of fine and performing arts in April 2024, effective a month later, according to a letter then-superintendent Christian Bowen sent Stellato.
The letter, among a series of documents that Newsday obtained from the district this week via a Freedom of Information Law request, does not state a reason for Stellato’s dismissal.
A week after the woman filed her lawsuit in November 2023, Huntington reassigned Stellato to home and banned him from school property "pending an investigation into allegations of misconduct against you," according to a memo from the superintendent.
Huntington's current superintendent, Beth McCoy, did not return messages seeking comment.
The former student alleged Stellato began grooming her when she was a high school freshman in 2006 and then sexually abused her when she was a senior in 2009-10, according to court papers. The sexual abuse allegedly took place in the Huntington school band room, at Elwood Park and during a school trip to a music conference in Rochester, records show.
The lawsuit does not state how old the student was at the time the alleged abuse occurred. Newsday does not name alleged sexual assault victims without their consent.
The woman's attorney, Thomas P. Giuffra, said in a telephone interview Friday that she feels "some element of justice because they finally took some action against him."
But Giuffra said "it's a day late in my client's case" because her lawsuit alleges that her mother raised concerns about Stellato's relationship with her daughter to the district before her senior year and did not investigate it. The district denied this in court papers.
"They could have dealt with it early on, and a lot of the bad things that happened could have been avoided," Giuffra said.
The woman filed her lawsuit under the Adult Survivors Act, a state law that created a yearlong suspension of the usual time limit for alleged sexual assault victims to sue. That window closed in November 2023.
Stellato, 44, of Holbrook, "unequivocally denies any inappropriate interaction with any former or current student," his attorney Jack Piana told Newsday in December 2023. Piana said by phone Friday, "We stand by the initial statement." He declined to comment further.
Huntington hired Stellato in 2006 as band director and promoted him in 2022 to director of fine and performing arts. He was still employed as a probationary appointment at the time of the allegations, affording the district freedom to terminate his employment simply through approval by the board of education.
The documents show the school board terminated a probationary employee, but withheld his name, calling it a "confidential personnel matter."
Stellato received $144,598 during the 2023-24 school year, according to Huntington payroll records Newsday obtained via public records request.
As of Friday, Stellato’s certificate to teach music remains active. So is his school district leader certificate. A spokeswoman for the state Education Department said "the Department does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations."
The lawsuit is ongoing. State Supreme court Justice George Nolan this week ordered the attorneys for Huntington, Stellato and the woman to appear at a conference Dec. 4 in Riverhead.
Long Island school districts have paid $170 million in recent years to settle more than 100 lawsuits brought by former students who say the districts failed to protect them from alleged sexual abuse years or decades ago, according to a Newsday analysis.
Newsday's Dandan Zou contributed to this story.
Jim Baumbach is an award-winning investigative reporter at Newsday, where he has worked since 1998. He spent two decades in the sports department, where he covered every professional team and league, including events such as the Super Bowl and World Series.
