Prison for ex-South Jersey fire chief who shared child porn from station
John Terruso, 46, of Marlton, headed the Audubon Park Volunteer Fire Company when authorities tracked file-sharing of child porn to a computer at the fire station.
A former South Jersey fire chief who used a computer at his fire station to share child pornography was sentenced Friday to a six-year prison term.
John Terruso, 46, of Marlton, headed the Audubon Park Volunteer Fire Company when authorities tracked file-sharing of child porn to a computer at the fire station. They found videos of "prepubescent" girls and boys engaging in sexual acts with adult males, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office said in a news release. Investigators found that Terruso was the person using the computer to share the child pornography online, the office said.
Terruso, who was arrested in June 2015, pleaded guilty this May to charges of second-degree distribution of child pornography and third-degree possession of 100 or more files of porn. He will have to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law and is barred from ever holding public employment, the Attorney General's Office said.
Terruso, who was sentenced by Superior Court Judge John T. Kelley in Camden, will be ineligible for parole for three years. The investigation involved state and federal as well as Camden County and Haddon Township law enforcement officials.
"A fire chief is supposed to be a guardian of public safety and a person children look up to, but Terruso instead used his position and public equipment in the cruel exploitation of children," Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said in the statement.