Bucks County deputy charged with nude prisoner photos

A former Bucks County deputy sheriff was formally charged on Monday, July 20, 2026, with secretly photographing naked prisoners in custody and sharing the images with colleagues and personal contacts. Ryan Gaffney, 46, faces multiple felony and misdemeanor charges, including official oppression, unsworn falsification to authorities, obstructing the administration of law, and possession of an instrument of crime.

The charges stem from two alleged incidents. The primary case occurred on January 30, 2026, when Gaffney and four other deputies served an arrest warrant at a home in Middletown Township. The man they sought was experiencing a mental health crisis and was naked from the waist down in his bedroom. According to the criminal complaint, while the man was sitting on a bench trying to put on pants, Gaffney covered the lens of his own body-worn camera, removed his glove, and used his personal cellphone to take a photograph of the man's exposed genitals. The action was captured on the body cameras of other deputies present.

Prosecutors allege Gaffney later returned to the Bucks County Justice Center in Doylestown and showed the photograph to female civilian employees in jest. A...