VENTNOR CITY, NJ – A 24-year-old police officer with the Ventnor City Police Department has been charged with multiple crimes, including invasion of privacy and official misconduct, after allegedly recording and distributing explicit surveillance footage of a female detainee while she was in custody.
Officer Ryan M. Bonanni of Egg Harbor Township was charged Monday, August 25, with second-degree official misconduct, second-degree computer theft, and three counts of third-degree invasion of privacy, following an investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Professional Standards and Accountability Unit.
The charges stem from a July 6 incident in which an adult female, identified only by the initials B.W., was arrested and held in a Ventnor City Police Department holding cell. During her detention, Bonanni allegedly accessed internal surveillance footage showing the woman in various stages of undress and engaged in a sexual act. Authorities say Bonanni then recorded the videos on his personal cellphone and shared them via Snapchat, along with captions related to the incident.
Investigators later recovered the videos, messages, and related captions from Bonanni’s device as part of the ongoing probe.
The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office is continuing its investigation and has encouraged the public to come forward with any information related to this case or similar incidents.
Bonanni has not yet entered a plea, and officials stressed that the charges are accusations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.