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Former Riverhead High School Teacher Ryan McCaffery Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Soliciting Nude Images From Minors
The former social studies teacher and soccer coach posed as a teenage boy on Snapchat to contact underage girls. A judge criticized the three-year sentence as too lenient.
A former Riverhead High School teacher and soccer coach was sentenced Wednesday to three years in state prison after admitting he posed as a teenage boy on social media to solicit nude images from underage girls and sent sexually explicit images of himself to minors.
Ryan McCaffery, 38, of Ridge, pleaded guilty in September to two felony counts of first-degree disseminating indecent material to minors as sexually motivated felonies and one misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child.
At Wednesday’s sentencing in Riverhead, Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis said she would honor the sentence negotiated by prosecutors but believed it was insufficient, according to Newsday.
“You’ve been given a gift, Mr. McCaffery,” Wilutis told him. “I hope you realize that.”
The judge said the agreed-upon sentence “quite frankly is not enough,” citing McCaffery’s position of trust as a teacher, which she compared to that of a guardian or surrogate parent.
McCaffery will also serve five years of post-release supervision.
Investigation Began With Tip About Child Sexual Abuse Material
An Investigation that Began in November, 2024
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the investigation began Nov. 4, 2024, when the New York State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about child sexual abuse material shared through the messaging application Kik.
Investigators executed a search warrant at McCaffery’s Ridge home on Jan. 17, 2025, seizing several electronic devices.
A forensic examination revealed that between December 2024 and January 2025, McCaffery used the Snapchat username “c_chambers77” to pose as a teenage boy and communicate with underage girls.
Prosecutors said he added hundreds of accounts, sent explicit photographs of himself and requested nude images from minors. Investigators also determined that he attempted to view and purchase additional child sexual abuse material and shared at least one such video with another Kik user.
At the time, McCaffery was employed as a social studies teacher and junior varsity boys soccer coach at Riverhead High School. He resigned from his teaching position Feb. 5, 2025.
An Arrest in May 2025
New York State Police arrested him May 12, 2025, following the investigation.
DA Condemns Former Teacher’s Conduct
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney condemned McCaffery’s actions in a statement following the sentencing.
“Adults have a responsibility to protect children, not expose them to sexually explicit material,” Tierney said. “The defendant’s conduct was deeply disturbing and wholly unacceptable.”
Tierney added that children should never have to experience such exploitation and that the sentence holds McCaffery accountable.
McCaffery and his attorney, Elena Fast, declined to address the court during Wednesday’s proceeding, according to Newsday. No victims appeared or delivered statements.
McCaffery has also been convicted and sentenced for similar offenses in Bergen County, New Jersey, where he received a five-year prison term that began Feb. 11, according to court records cited by Newsday. His New York and New Jersey sentences will run concurrently, the newspaper reported.
The Suffolk County case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Sean Murphy and Melissa Grier of the Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Bureau. New York State Police Investigator Ryan Delaney of the Computer Crimes Unit conducted the investigation.
