Ex-NYPD cop bought second home in Texas to be near sex abuse victim, feds say
NEW YORK — A former Staten Island cop facing child porn and child sex abuse allegations bought a second home in Texas so he could be closer to one of his young victims, the feds say in new court filings.
Ex-NYPD Officer Christopher Terranova, 34, now faces federal charges in connection with four young boys, two of whom he enticed into sexual activities, according to a new indictment filed in Brooklyn Federal Court earlier this month.
The most recent charges focus on a teenage boy living in Texas, who was 15 when Terranova started pursuing him, the feds allege in a Friday court filing.
He met the youth through social media, and enticed the boy to send explicit photos on Snapchat and live-stream sex acts on Facetime, according to the feds.
Terranova also traveled to Texas several times for sexual encounters, and “even purchased a second home in Texas that was a few minutes away from [the teen’s] residence at the time,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Shanies wrote Friday. The alleged abuse took place between December 2019 and September 2022.
Terranova, who joined the NYPD in 2011, was initially arrested on Staten Island in May 2023, on state charges of dissemination of indecent material to a minor and acting in a manner injurious to a child under age 17.
The troubles started piling on from there, starting with more charges last July and a federal indictment in December.
After his arrest, police found materials about the Texas victim — photos, info about his likes, dislikes, religion and family, and letters — in a locked safe in his home, the feds allege.
In all, he’s charged with crimes against four young boys, including the Texas teen, according to a July 10 superseding indictment.
He contacted one of his victims, a 15-year-old boy who was robbed on Staten Island in March 2023, after looking up the teen’s info in an NYPD database that had his cellphone number, the feds say.
“Hey…. it’s Chris Terranova the cop you met at the 121 that day with mom, i just wanted to reach out to see if you were doing ok after the incident, I hate seeing these things happen to good Guys like yourself,” he texted the boy, according to court documents.
The boy’s parents knew him from their neighborhood and ran into him at the 121st Precinct in Graniteville when they went to report the crime, the feds allege.
Terranova then struck up a social media conversation with the teen, steering the topic to sex and pornography, and eventually sent an explicit photo of himself, writing, “See it’s nothing. Your turn,” the feds allege.
Terranova’s lawyer, Vinoo Varghese, filed a motion last month to have the charges dismissed for three of the four teens, arguing the feds don’t have the jurisdiction to prosecute because the alleged acts don’t affect interstate commerce.
“We moved to dismiss three of the four charges in the original indictment on the grounds that conduct that occurred purely in Staten Island had no federal nexus,” he said. “The government responded by adding two new charges involving a fourth minor. Chris denies engaging in any illegal conduct. We are reviewing the government’s response and will reply appropriately.”
Terranova was suspended after his arrest. He left the force in September, according to an NYPD spokesperson.
He remains held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
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