NYPD Cop Groomed Underage Boys For Child Porn, Feds Say

QUEENS, NY — A Staten Island cop preyed upon at least three underage boys, from whom he tried to get explicit photographs, federal prosecutors said.

NYPD Officer Christopher Terranova, 34, faces charges of attempting to produce child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday in Brooklyn federal court.

Terranova sexually assaulted one boy, 15, and asked a 12-year-old boy for explicit photographs, according to court documents. In another case, he used his position as an NYPD officer to gain access to a 15-year-old boy who had been robbed, court documents state.

He sent that underage robbery victim texts pressuring him for explicit photographs of himself, promising it would be "fun and brotherly," documents state.

"Your turn," he wrote after sending an explicit photograph of himself, according to court documents.

Terranova's own NYPD colleagues first arrested him in May on charges of disseminating indecent materials to minors, and cuffed him again in July on additional charges, records state.

But those New York state-based charges have been effectively on hold as federal authorities pursued their own case against Terranova, documents state.

A filing by federal prosecutors urged a judge to order Terranova held without bond, arguing he's a danger to the community and a flight risk.

Searches of Terranova's social media accounts, devices and home revealed numerous other potential victims, the filing states. Authorities also found a safe containing "grooming notes" on the boy he's accused of sexually assaulting, as well as records he purchased an out-of-state residence close to the boy's home to be close to him, according to the filing.

"The defendant was entrusted with the safety of our community and used his position of power and trust to gain access to and prey on vulnerable children," the filing states. "And his abuse went beyond online exploitation when he sexually assaulted John Doe 1 in his car in the woods. He is a predator and he is dangerous."

Terranova faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to life in prison if convicted.

He retired in September while he was suspended with pay, police officials told Patch.