Manchester School Resource Officer Investigation — What We Know

MANCHESTER, CT — The town of Manchester has hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation into allegations of illicit conduct against the former and now deceased supervisor of the school resource officers.

More victims are suspected, according to a letter to the community from Superintendent of Schools Matt Geary and Town Manager Steve Stephanou.

Here's what we know, roughly three months after charges were levied against Sgt. Ryan Moan:

• On the morning of Dec. 6, Moan surrendered to colleagues at the Manchester Police Department via a warrant that charged him with risk of injury/impairing the morals of a child, enticing a minor by computer, misrepresentation of age to entice a minor and evidence tampering. Moan had posted a $50,000 non-surety bond and was scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 3.
• Stephanou and Manchester Police Chief William Darby released a joint statement, saying the Town of Manchester and Manchester Police Department were "shocked, outraged, and disturbed" by the allegations. Moan joined the police force in 2017.
• Moan had been placed on leave about three weeks before the warrant was served.
• Early that afternoon, a passerby found a man suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a boat launch at Bolton Lake in Vernon. Vernon police identified the man as Moan and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
• Town and school officials have now received allegations of sexual misconduct by Moan involving at least one student in the Manchester public school system, along with "information that there may have been additional student victims."
• The town has now retained an outside law firm — Hartford-based Cowdery, Murphy & Healy — which will conduct "an objective investigation into the conduct of Sgt. Moan and the investigation that resulted in his arrest."

Here is the full transcript of the letter from Geary and Stephanou:

"Dear Parents and Families,

"In December, the Superintendent’s Office wrote to you that the Manchester Police arrested Sgt. Ryan Moan, who had been serving as the supervisor of School Resource Officers (SRO), on charges that included risk of injury/impairing morals of a child, enticing a minor by computer, misrepresentation of age to entice a minor and tampering with physical evidence. Sgt. Moan died by suicide on the day he was charged. Sgt. Moan had been placed on leave on November 18, 2024, when allegations were first raised.

"We are writing to let you know that the District and Town have received allegations of sexual misconduct by Sgt. Moan involving at least one MPS student, with information that there may have been additional student victims. The Town of Manchester has retained an outside firm, Cowdery, Murphy & Healy, LLC, who will conduct an objective investigation into the conduct of Sgt. Moan and the investigation that resulted in his arrest. We will cooperate fully with the investigation, and we would encourage anyone who has any information to contact Attorney Thomas J. Murphy at 860-278-5555 or tmurphy@cmandh.com. You are also free to contact either of us directly. We are deeply troubled by these allegations and our concern is for our current and former students and our community.

"As parents, we understand the impact this news will have on parents and guardians who place our trust in those who serve our students. There is no question that something like this shakes the confidence of students and families in the adults in our schools.

"While SROs are certified police officers and subject to rigorous and current background checks, it is our job to keep students in our schools and our community safe and, while we have policies and procedures that are aligned with legal requirements, we are committed to revisiting those processes to prevent things like this from happening with adults in schools who should be able to be counted on as trusted caretakers of our kids.

"We will keep you updated as we learn more and are available if you have questions."