A former Pennsylvania sheriff’s deputy is accused of secretly photographing nude detainees in an effort to “humiliate” them, then sharing the explicit images with friends and colleagues, authorities said.
Ryan Gaffney, a former Bucks County deputy sheriff, was charged Monday with multiple offenses after investigators said he covertly took photos of naked men while working and later attempted to conceal his actions, Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan announced during a news conference.
Gaffney, 46, who was terminated by the sheriff’s office in June, allegedly took one of the images on January 30 while serving an arrest warrant at a Middletown Township home alongside four other deputies, Khan told reporters.
Prosecutors said the man at the center of that incident was experiencing a mental health crisis and was discovered in an upstairs bedroom naked from the waist down.
As the man tried to put on his pants at the edge of his bed, Gaffney allegedly covered his body-worn camera in an attempt to block the recording, authorities said.
But footage from another deputy’s body-worn camera reportedly showed Gaffney removing a glove, pulling out his personal cellphone and aiming the phone’s camera toward the man, Khan said.
Later that same day, Gaffney allegedly displayed a photo of the man’s genitals to female civilian employees at the Bucks County Criminal Justice Center “in jest,” according to a criminal complaint.
Investigators said a forensic review also found that Gaffney allegedly sent the image by text message to two personal contacts.
A second nude image uncovered on Gaffney’s phone captured a naked, handcuffed male prisoner lying across a bed on December 26, 2024, authorities said.
The nudes-obsessed Gaffney allegedly sent the image around to 12 different personal contacts on four separate dates, Khan said.
The deputy also allegedly made false and misleading statements during an interview with investigators before signing a written statement denying taking the nude photo of the man suffering a mental health crisis.
He also provided selective screenshots of his active and recently deleted photo libraries to “mislead investigators,” the complaint added.
A court-authorized forensic search of his phone later revealed the lewd photos, Khan said.
“I want to be clear. Mr. Gaffney’s conduct is a disgrace. It is a betrayal of the trust that was placed in him by the Sheriff and by the taxpayers,” Khan said at the press conference.
“The people of Bucks County must be able to trust that those who are sworn to protect them will respect their basic rights and dignity at all times, especially when they are at their most vulnerable,” Khan said.
“When a deputy sheriff breaks the law and then attempts to cover it up by lying about it, it erodes the public trust that thousands of honest public servants work daily to preserve,” Khan added.
Gaffney was charged via summons on Monday with official oppression, unsworn falsification to authorities, possessing an instrument of crime, and obstructing the administration of law or other government function.
“Ryan Gaffney is a veteran and father who has spent his life serving his country and his community through law enforcement,” Gaffney’s attorney, Paul Lang, told People in a statement.
“As is often true in cases involving law enforcement, there is far more to this case than the one-sided narrative that has been presented to the public. Ryan deserves the same presumption of innocence and due process guaranteed to every citizen, and we look forward to presenting the full facts before the court,” Lang added.
The ousted deputy is slated to appear for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 10.
Lang did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
