New Hampshire Police Officer Arrested and Charged with Child Pornography Offense
BOSTON – A Police Officer for the Town of Seabrook, N.H., was arrested today for allegedly receiving child sexual abuse material.
John Giarrusso, 49, of Haverhill, Mass., was charged with one count of receipt of child pornography. Giarrusso was arrested this morning and will appear in federal court in Boston at 2 p.m. today.
According to the charging documents, on or about Oct. 16, 2024 through Oct. 17, 2024 Giarrusso knowingly received video files depicting child sexual abuse on Kik. It is alleged that the victims in these videos appeared to be between approximately five to 11 years old.
Last month, Giarrusso was charged by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts with possession of child pornography and distribution of graphic sexual images to a minor. He is currently on bail for the state charges.
The charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Haverhill Police Department and Essex County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Soto of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.
Former Seabrook, NH, police officer who lives in Massachusetts charged with receiving child sexual abuse material
A former New Hampshire police officer already facing child sexual abuse image charges has been arrested again on a new federal charge of allegedly receiving child sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
John Giarrusso, 49, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, was charged with one federal count of receipt of child pornography. Giarrusso was arrested Thursday morning and was set to appear in federal court in Boston.
Giarrusso was a Seabrook, New Hampshire, police officer when he was originally arrested in March. Seabrook police said he resigned his position with the department on March 7.
According to the charging documents, on or about Oct. 16 through Oct. 17, 2024, Giarrusso knowingly received video files depicting child sexual abuse on the messaging app Kik. It is alleged that the victims in these videos appeared to be between approximately five to 11 years old, investigators said.
In July, Giarrusso was charged by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts with possession of child pornography and distribution of graphic sexual images to a minor. He is currently on bail on the state charges.
In March, Giarrusso was arrested after an investigation linked him to graphic uploads and disturbing conversations on a messaging app, according to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Working off a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Haverhill, Massachusetts, police issued a warrant for Giarrusso after it was determined that his IP address and social media accounts linked to his name and date of birth were used in sending and receiving graphic messages about having sex with children as young as 6, according to the ICAC's investigation outlined in a criminal complaint.
Giarrusso was also accused in March of uploading several videos to Kik that show children being molested and raped by adults, according to the criminal complaint. He also engaged in graphic conversations with other Kik users about arranging to have sex with their wives, young daughters and stepdaughters, ICAC said.
In some conversations, Giarrusso brags to other Kik users about his job and says the "girls in town call him Officer Sexy," according to the criminal complaint.
ICAC said its investigation found that in his role as a police officer, Giarrusso participated in fundraising for “child-focused facilities that help abused children heal by coordinating the investigation and treatment of child sexual abuse.”
Investigators said selfies uploaded to Kik to verify his identification to other app users during the illicit conversations were confirmed to be Giarrusso.
In March, Giarrusso was charged with possession of child sexual abuse images, dissemination of visual material of a child in a state of nudity or sexual conduct and disseminating obscene matter to a minor. Giarrusso was released after he posted $100,000 cash bail.
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