A former Riverhead High School teacher who resigned earlier this month was arrested and charged yesterday in New Jersey after being accused of engaging in sexual acts through video chat with two children online and asking the victims for nude photos.
Prosecutors in Bergen County said Ryan McCaffery, 37, posed as a minor and used the screen name “Asherkonlon2” to request nude photos and engage in sexual acts while video chatting separately with the two victims, both under 13 years old, according to the Daily Voice. Law enforcement conducted a raid of McCaffery’s home in Ridge on Jan 17 as a part of the investigation into the two incidents, the first of which occurred in 2022, according to the article.
McCaffery resigned from the Riverhead Central School District on Feb. 5; the charges are unrelated to McCaffery’s work as a teacher in the district or any interactions he had with students, Interim Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich said in a letter to the school district community on Saturday sent through ParentSquare.
On Friday, McCaffery surrendered himself to authorities and was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault, two counts of third-degree child endangerment, and two counts of fourth-degree lewdness, according to the Daily Voice. McCaffery was taken to the Bergen County Jail and will remain there until future court proceedings, the articles says.
McCaffery was a high school social studies teacher in the Riverhead Central School District, the head coach for the junior varsity boy’s soccer team, and taught social studies in the evening school program, according to Riverhead Board of Education records.
McCaffery resigned from his position with the district earlier this month citing personal reasons, Pedisich wrote in her letter. She called McCaffery’s alleged actions “deplorable” and wrote that the district will “be cooperating with law enforcement in any ongoing investigations.”
“It is the District’s understanding, based on conversations with law enforcement, that none of these charges are related to Mr. McCaffery’s prior work as a teacher in the Riverhead School District or any interactions Mr. McCaffery may have had with any student in his classes or any other child enrolled in the Riverhead School District,” Pedisich wrote.
“We understand news of this sort is upsetting to parents, guardians, our Riverhead School District faculty and staff, and the greater Riverhead community,” Pedisich wrote. “The safety and well-being of our students is always our highest priority.”
The investigation into the incidents, led by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit, is continuing, according to the Daily Voice. Any parent or guardian who determines that their child received inappropriate communications from the online screen name “Asherkonlon2” should contact the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Tip Line at (201) 226-5532.
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
This article has been amended to correct a misspelling of McCaffery’s name, which stemmed from a Riverhead Central School District statement.
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