Former Riverhead Teacher Pleads Guilty In Child Sex Case

A former Riverhead High School teacher and junior varsity soccer coach has pleaded guilty to soliciting nude images from underage girls while posing as a teenager online and sharing child sexual abuse material.

Ryan McCaffery, 38, of Ridge, pleaded guilty Sept. 21 to two felony counts of Disseminating Indecent Material to Minors in the First Degree as a Sexually Motivated Felony and one misdemeanor count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.

Authorities said the investigation began in November 2024 after the New York State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding child sexual abuse material shared through the messaging app Kik.

State Police searched McCaffery’s Ridge home in January 2025 and seized several electronic devices. Prosecutors said a forensic examination revealed that McCaffery posed as a teenage boy on Snapchat using the username “c_chambers77.”

Investigators said McCaffery added hundreds of random accounts and communicated with underage girls. Prosecutors said he sent sexually explicit images of himself, requested nude images from minors and attempted to obtain additional child sexual abuse material. He also shared at least one such video with another Kik user.

McCaffery was employed as a social studies teacher and junior varsity boys soccer coach at Riverhead High School. He resigned from his teaching position on Feb. 5, 2025, and was arrested by State Police on May 12, 2025.

“As a teacher, this defendant had a responsibility to safeguard children, not exploit them,” Tierney said.

McCaffery is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 21. Prosecutors said he is expected to receive three years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.

Authorities said McCaffery has also been convicted of similar crimes in Bergen County, New Jersey.