WARNING: Roger Hueber

Episode of Crime Junkie · July 13, 2026 · 46 min

Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat recount the 2005 disappearance of Cheryl Rucci, a witness against corrections officer Roger Hueber, and a previously unreported sighting.

Summary

Ashley Flowers presented the case of Roger Hueber, a Niagara County Sheriff's Office corrections officer in Lockport, New York, investigated in 2005 after a special education student's journal described his relationship with 17-year-old Megan. The investigation uncovered alleged abuse and exposure involving multiple minors, and Hueber's live-in girlfriend Cheryl Rucci, who had a learning disability, confessed that she and Hueber had sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in 1999. Flowers characterized Rucci as both a victim and a participant manipulated by Hueber.

Rucci accepted a plea deal to testify but vanished on August 9, 2005, after deputies attempted to serve her with a grand jury subpoena. Her family said the same department that employed Hueber treated her as a fugitive, and an investigator allegedly disparaged her. Hueber was indicted on 21 counts, was accused of intimidating a witness, and ultimately pleaded guilty to attempted rape and child endangerment, receiving 16 months to four years. Flowers reported that Rucci's daughter now says Hueber's movie-night alibi was cancelled.

The episode introduced a witness called "Amy" who said that on the night of the disappearance she saw an apparently frightened woman in a teal car on a rural road, mouthing "go," as a large man emerged from the brush; she later identified the woman as Rucci and believed the man was Hueber, but said police dismissed her. Flowers also described unverified claims about tapes Rucci gave the sheriff's office, case files reviewed in 2025, a 2024 search, and a pending criminal matter involving Hueber, arguing that he remains around children and that early investigative assumptions damaged the case.

Chapters

1:33
Emily's journal and Roger Hueber
A special education student's journal reveals that a law enforcement employee named Roger is involved with her 17-year-old friend Megan.
Linked moment · 4:40Skip to 4:40 using a listen link in the info box.
4:40
The investigation begins
Investigator Joe Taylor looks into the allegations, constrained by New York's age of consent, and interviews Hueber.
7:33
Cheryl Rucci and the cycle of grooming
The hosts describe Hueber's girlfriend Cheryl Rucci, other victims, and a pattern of using one victim to reach the next.
13:20
Cheryl's confession and plea deal
Rucci confesses to a 1999 assault with Hueber, leading to his arrest and a plea deal for her testimony.
15:20
Cheryl disappears
Rucci vanishes after learning of a subpoena, and her family says authorities treated her as a runaway fugitive.
18:23
Indictment, witness intimidation and plea
Hueber is indicted, has his bail revoked for intimidating a witness, and pleads guilty after a defense witness recants.
24:05
The family's case and a broken alibi
Rucci's family argues she would never leave, and her daughter reveals Hueber's movie-night alibi was cancelled.
30:24
Amy's sighting
A previously unreported witness describes seeing a frightened woman in a teal car and a large man emerging from the woods.
36:14
Facebook allegations and missing tapes
The hosts discuss a separate assault allegation against a deputy and claims that Rucci turned over tapes before vanishing.
39:10
Recent investigative activity
Case files were reviewed in 2025 and a 2024 search of the area turned up nothing, while the car's identity remains unclear.
42:39
Hueber after prison
Hueber's release, registry violation, early discharge, marriage to Megan, and efforts to control his public image are described.
46:43
A pending case and a call for tips
A pending criminal matter is noted, Rucci's family's grief is described, and listeners are urged to contact the sheriff's office.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Ashley Flowers
Flowers argues that Hueber used one victim to prey on the next as part of his grooming process.
“And the way that he would use one victim to prey on the next, I think, is part of the process as well”
Listen from 8:50 · Child grooming
Ashley Flowers
Flowers believes Rucci confessed out of fear, citing her family's view that Hueber controlled her throughout her adult life.
“But I think she was driven to confess out of fear. Her family felt that for her whole adult life, Roger had his thumb on her”
Listen from 14:16 · Disappearance of Cheryl Rucci
Ashley Flowers
Flowers questions the conflict of interest in having Hueber's own employer investigate the disappearance of the witness against him.
“And this is the same department, I'd like to remind you, that Roger worked for”
Listen from 18:10 · Niagara County Sheriff's Office
Ashley Flowers
Flowers says she completely disbelieves Hueber's parole-board claim that he did not know the girls' ages.
“He didn't know how old they were. Like one girl told me she was 18. Cheryl told me that, too. I mean, I believe this zero percent”
Listen from 22:02 · Roger Hueber sexual abuse case
Ashley Flowers
Flowers reports that Rucci's daughter told the show the movie night that formed Hueber's alibi had been cancelled.
“She said, yes, they were supposed to go to the movies, but that movie night got canceled”
Listen from 28:07 · Disappearance of Cheryl Rucci
Ashley Flowers
Flowers argues that investigators' early assumption that Rucci ran away did lasting damage to the case.
“I cannot help but believe that the early assumptions that they made did like irreparable damage to Cheryl's case”
Listen from 30:37 · Cold case investigations
Ashley Flowers
Flowers reports that witness Amy said a detective told her Rucci was not worth looking for.
“Amy says that the detective outright told her that Cheryl wasn't worth looking for”
Listen from 35:42 · Disappearance of Cheryl Rucci
Ashley Flowers
Flowers reports that Amy believed the large man she saw emerging from the brush was Hueber.
“she did think that the bald, stocky, muscular, Hulk-like figure that she saw walking out of the brush that night was him”
Listen from 36:14 · Disappearance of Cheryl Rucci
Ashley Flowers
Flowers argues that hoping Hueber's past is behind him is insufficient to protect children around him.
“He was a convicted predator. And I think it takes more than hope and a prayer to protect kids”
Listen from 44:57 · Sex offender registration
Ashley Flowers
Flowers suggests that the 2025 file review and a pending criminal case indicate new action against Hueber in Niagara County.
“knowing we've got a judge saying there is a pending criminal case in 2026, I think something seems to be brewing in Niagara County”
Listen from 45:29 · Roger Hueber sexual abuse case
Ashley Flowers
Flowers describes Rucci as an imperfect victim who nonetheless deserves to be found.
“She was an imperfect victim who became an imperfect witness”
Listen from 46:43 · Disappearance of Cheryl Rucci

People

In the conversation

Ashley FlowersCreator and host of the true crime podcast Crime Junkie and founder of Audiochuck
Brit PrawatCo-host of Crime Junkie, introduced in the episode as 'Britt'

Discussed

Roger HueberFormer Niagara County corrections officer convicted of attempted rape and child endangerment
Cheryl RucciHueber's former girlfriend and witness against him who disappeared in August 2005
Joe TaylorNiagara County Sheriff's investigator who handled the original 2005 case
Ed FinleyCurrent lead investigator on Cheryl Rucci's disappearance
Malika DhaliwalCrime Junkie reporter who worked on the episode

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From the publisher

In August 2005, a woman disappeared just days before she was supposed to testify against her boyfriend, a corrections officer accused of sexually abusing minors. For years, her family says she was treated like a fugitive instead of a missing person. But when we looked deeper, we found a witness who has never spoken publicly before — and a sighting from the night she vanished that could change the way this case has been understood for more than twenty years.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 30, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: True Crime