Ex-Riverhead High School Teacher, Coach, Pleads Guilty After Soliciting Nude Images Of Underage Girls: DA

RIVERHEAD, NY — A former Riverhead High School teacher and coach pleaded guilty after posing as a teenager to solicit nude images from underage girls, Suffolk County District Ray Tierney said.

According to Tierney, Ryan McCaffery, 38, of Ridge, pleaded guilty to first-degree disseminating indecent material to minors as a sexually motivated felony after soliciting the nude images of the underage girls and sending explicit images of himself.

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He solicited the images on Snapchat and shared child sexual abuse material on Kik, Tierney said.

According to the investigation, on November 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 shared child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, on Kik, a messaging application, the DA said.

On January 17, 2025, the New York State Police executed a search warrant at McCaffery's Ridge home and seized several electronic devices, Tierney said.

A digital forensic analysis of the devices revealed that, between December 2024 and January 2025, McCaffery had been posing as a teenage boy and messaging multiple underage girls on Snapchat under the name "c_chambers77," Tierney said.

McCaffery had "quick added" hundreds of random accounts in order to communicate with female children, sending images of his exposed genitals and requesting nude images from the minors, Tierney said.

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 DA said.

Investigators determined that McCaffery was employed as a Riverhead High School social studies teacher and Junior Varsity boys soccer coach, Tierney said.

McCaffery resigned from his teaching position on February 5, 2025, the DA said.

He was arrested by the New York State Police on May 12, 2025, following an extensive investigation, the DA said.

On Monday, McCaffery pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis to two counts of first-degree disseminating indecent material to minors as a sexually motivated felony, class D felonies, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor, Tierney said.

McCaffery is due back in court for sentencing on October 21, and is expected to be sentenced to three years in prison, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision, Tierney said.

He is being represented by Elena Fast, Esq.; Fast could not immediately be reached for comment.

McCaffery has also been convicted for similar crimes in Bergan County, New Jersey, the DA said.

In a letter to Riverhead families sent out in 2025, then-Interim Superintendent of School Cheryl Pedisich said "Ryan McCaffrey, a former Riverhead High School teacher, turned himself in to the Bergen County Prosecutor's office on Friday, February 14, 2025, on charges stemming" from the alleged interactions with kids.

"Mr. McCaffrey had resigned from his position with the district earlier this month, citing personal reasons," Pedisich said at the time. "It is the district's understanding, based on conversations with law enforcement, that none of these charges are related to Mr. McCaffrey's prior work as a teacher in the Riverhead School District or any interactions Mr. McCaffrey may have had with any student in his classes or any other child enrolled in the Riverhead School District."

Bergen County Police could not immediately provide additional information.

"We understand news of this sort is upsetting to parents, guardians, our Riverhead School District faculty and staff, and the greater Riverhead community," Pedisich said at the time. "The safety and well-being of our students is always our highest priority. We find deplorable the actions and behavior Mr. McCaffrey is accused of, and will be cooperating with law enforcement in any ongoing investigations."

"As a teacher, this defendant had a responsibility to safeguard children, not exploit them." said Tierney. "He has now admitted to soliciting and distributing child sexual abuse material and will be held accountable for his actions. My office will continue to aggressively prosecute those who seek to exploit children and use the internet to facilitate these horrific crimes."