N.Y. High School Teacher Allegedly  Posed as a Teen on Snapchat to Solicit Explicit Material from Minors: Police

One New York teacher has been charged and pleaded not guilty to 11 sex-related crime charges, after allegedly posing as a minor when asking minors for pornographic images, according to court records obtained by PEOPLE.

Ryan McCaffery, 37, was charged with three counts of disseminating indecent material to minors in the first degree, three counts of attempted use of a child in a sexual performance who is under 17 years old, three counts of acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17, as well as one count for promoting a sexual performance by a child under 17 and another count of possession of sexual performance by a child, according to New York State Police (NYSP) news release.

In January 2025, a search warrant was executed, and several of McCaffery’s electronic devices were seized from his residence in suspected connection with sexual online chat conversations with juvenile victims under the age of 13 in 2022 in Bergen County, N.J. He allegedly communicated with a victim under the age of 13, while “purporting to be a juvenile but suspected to be an adult male,” per the Bergen County, N.J., Prosecutors’ Office on Friday, Feb. 14, news release.

McCaffery was then interviewed by the NYSP Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) and Bergen County, N.J., Prosecutors’ Office. He was subsequently arrested in February 2025 and charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault, two counts of third-degree child endangerment, and two counts of fourth-degree lewdness, according to the office’s news release.

McCaffery, a former Riverhead High School social studies teacher and coach, resigned from the Riverhead Central School District on Feb. 5 — just nine days before he was arrested in Bergen County. Interim Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich said in a Monday, May 12, statement that charges against McCaffery do not involve students from Riverhead High School, per Riverhead Local.

After his arrest in New Jersey, the NYSP’s Computer Crime Unit and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office executed multiple search warrants and subpoenas. As a result, it was found that a stranger, who was later revealed to be McCaffery, “was requesting nude photos and engaging in sexual acts while video chatting with victims on Snapchat,” per the NYSP.

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Over the past several months, the NYSP BCI continued investigating him regarding December 2024 allegations. On Monday, May 12, he surrendered himself to the NYSP in Riverside, N.Y. He was arrested, charged and transported to Suffolk County First District Court for arraignment.

McCaffery is scheduled to appear in New Jersey court on Thursday, May 15, and Monday, June 16 in Long Island, N.Y.

This investigation is ongoing. Any parent or guardian who believes their child received inappropriate communications from the Snapchat username “C_chambers77” should contact the New York State Police at 631-756-3300.

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