A dozen families are suing the West Hempstead School District, Superintendent Daniel Rehman and Cornwell Avenue Elementary School Principal Deanna Sinito for neglecting abuse claims against former special education teacher John O'Dwyer.

O'Dwyer was a special education teacher at Cornwell Elementary School between 2020 and 2024.

Throughout the course of his employment, O’Dwyer routinely physically assaulted second and third grade children by punching them in the head, hitting them with textbooks, kicking them, pushing them off chairs, squeezing their heads, and stabbing them in the eye with markers, according to new court documents.

The lawsuit also claims that O'Dwyer's alleged abuse was also psychological, and entailed locking his students in dark closets, forcing them to drink vinegar threatening to make them stay at school overnight, and stealing their food.

The suit also mentions O'Dwyer putting hand sanitizer on a student's lips, causing them to burn.

As News 12 has reported, O'Dwyer also injured a child while working for a behavioral health company called Family of Kidz, according to court documents.

After reaching out for comment, a spokesperson from the West Hempstead School district tells News12 they do not comment on any ongoing litigation.