A former New York teacher faces prison time after prosecutors said he posed as a teenager on Snapchat to solicit nude photos from underage girls and shared child sexual abuse material online.
Ryan McCaffery pleaded guilty on Monday, September 21, to two counts of disseminating indecent material to minors as a sexually motivated felony, as well as one misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
McCaffery, 38, previously taught social studies at Riverhead High School, located on Long Island, where he also coached the junior varsity boys soccer team. He resigned from his position in February 2025, shortly before being arrested in May 2025.
“As a teacher, this defendant had a responsibility to safeguard children, not exploit them.” District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said in a Tuesday, September 22, news release. “He has now admitted to soliciting and distributing child sexual abuse material and will be held accountable for his actions.”
McCaffery’s defense attorney, Elena Fast, declined to comment when reached by Us.
The investigation into McCaffery began after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted New York State Police in November 2024 to a person who shared child sexual abuse material on the messaging app Kik, according to prosecutors. The individual was ultimately identified as McCaffery.
In January 2025, state police carried out a search warrant at McCaffery’s home in Ridge, where they took his electronic devices as evidence, prosecutors said.
A search of his devices showed McCaffery had pretended to be a teenage boy on Snapchat and was messaging several minor girls using the username “c_chambers77,” according to the district attorney’s office.
He allegedly added hundreds of Snapchat accounts at random to connect with minors.
The investigation also revealed McCaffery sent photos of his genitals to underage girls and asked minor females for nude photos, according to prosecutors.
“McCaffery had also attempted to view and purchase additional sexual abuse images and videos and shared at least one such video with another user on Kik,” the district attorney’s office said.
McCaffery was also convicted of “similar crimes in Bergen County, New Jersey,” according to prosecutors.
After McCaffery resigned from his teaching position in February 2025, Riverhead High School’s former interim superintendent, Cheryl Pedisich, said in a letter to families that the criminal accusations against McCaffery didn’t involve any school district students, Patch.com reported.
McCaffery is expected to be handed a three-year prison sentence, followed by five years of supervised release, according to the district attorney’s office. His sentencing is set for October 21.
