'Truly Disturbing': Ex Teacher Targeted Minors For Nude Photos: DA

RIDGE, NY — A former Riverhead High School teacher was indicted on Wednesday for requesting nude photos and engaging in sexual acts with minors on social media, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.

Ryan McCaffery, 37 of Ridge, was indicted for promoting a sexual performance by a child and several related charges for allegedly requesting nude images from underage girls and sending explicit photos of himself to them, the DA said.

"We aggressively prosecute those who would exploit their positions of trust to harm children," Tierney said. "The allegations in this indictment are truly disturbing. Our office remains committed to protecting our children and holding alleged predators accountable for their actions."

According to the investigation, on Nov. 4, 2024, the New York State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual had allegedly shared child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on Kik, a messaging application, the DA said.

On Jan. 17, 2025, the New York State Police executed a search warrant at McCaffery’s Ridge home that allegedly yielded several electronic devices, the DA said.

According to the DA, a digital forensic analysis of the devices found that McCaffery had allegedly been posing as a teenage boy and engaging in chats with multiple underage girls on Snapchat, sending images of his exposed genitals and requesting nude photos from the minors. The investigation also found that McCaffery had allegedly attempted to view and purchase additional abusive images and had shared at least one such video with another user on Kik, the DA said.

The investigation also revealed that McCaffery used the Snapchat name "c_chambers77" and "quick added" hundreds of random accounts to communicate with female children, the DA said.

In January 2023, New York’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated McCaffery after detectives in Bergen County, NJ, told them that the parents of a minor female had told them in October 2022 that their daughter had been communicating with a user on Snapchat who had allegedly solicited nude images and videos from the child and sent the child nude photos and videos of himself, the DA said.

Through the investigation, the New York State Police and Bergen County detectives determined that the unknown Snapchat user who had been communicating with the minors was allegedly McCaffery, and that he was employed as a Riverhead High School social studies teacher and Junior Varsity boys soccer coach until he resigned on Feb. 5, 2025, the DA said.

He was arrested and charged with sexual assault, child endangerment and lewdness on Feb. 14, 2025, in Bergen County, which is still a pending case, the DA said.

After an extensive investigation, McCaffery was later arrested by New York State Police for his alleged Suffolk County crimes on May 12, the DA said.

On June 4, McCaffery was arraigned before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis for one count of promoting a sexual performance by a child as a sexually motivated felony, a Class D felony; one count of promoting a sexual performance by a child, a Class D felony; three counts of attempted use of a child in a sexual performance as a sexually motivated felony, a Class D felony; three counts of attempted use of a child in a sexual performance, a Class D felony; three counts of first-degree disseminating indecent material to minors as a sexually motivated felony, a Class D felony; three counts of first-degree disseminating indecent material to minors, a Class D felony; one count of possessing a sexual performance by a child, a Class E felony; and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a Class A misdemeanor, the DA said.

Wilutis ordered McCaffery held on $100,000 cash bail, $400,000 bond, or $1 million partially secured bond during the pendency of the case, the DA said. He is due back in court on July 17 and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted on the top count, the DA said.

He is being represented by Daniel Kratka, who was not immediately available for comment.