Former Teacher Posed As Teen On Snapchat, Had Explicit Chats With Minors

A former New York school teacher was arrested on Monday for allegedly posing as a teenager and extorting sexually explicit photographs from minors, police said.

Ryan J McCaffery, who earlier taught at the Riverhead High School teacher, is accused of three counts of disseminating indecent material to minors, three counts of attempted use of a child - under 17 years of age - in a sexual performance and three counts of acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17.

Apart from that, the 37-year-old also faces charges of promoting a sexual performance by a child under 17 and possession of a sexual performance by a child. McCaffery has pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges, police said in a statement.

In January 2025, the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations (NYSP BCI) in Riverside and the Troop L Computer Crime Unit (CCU) carried out a search warrant at McCaffery's NY residence.

The raid occurred after the Internet Crime Against Children (ICAC) received a cyber tip. The police seized several electronic devices from his residence. Post the search, McCaffery was interviewed, arrested and charged on February 14, 2025, with two counts of second-degree sexual assault, two counts of third-degree child endangerment, and two counts of fourth-degree lewdness in Bergen County, police said.

The charges were framed after McCaffery's online conversations with juvenile victims under the age of 13 came to light. He used the Snapchat account C_chambers77 to ask for these images.

Following a thorough investigation that lasted several months, McCaffery turned himself in to the New York State Police in Riverside, New York, where he was taken into custody and prosecuted.

McCaffery was transported to Suffolk County First District Court for arraignment, the police said.

The New York State Police and Suffolk County District Attorney's Office probe is still underway to determine if more victims existed.