Ex-N.Y.P.D. Officer Convicted of Sex Offenses Involving 4 Underage Boys

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Ex-N.Y.P.D. Officer Convicted of Sex Offenses Involving 4 Underage Boys

Christopher Terranova, a former officer from Staten Island, was accused of preying on teenage boys on Snapchat, including one whom he met when the child reported a robbery.

Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said Christopher Terranova “abused his position” as a police officer to gain the victims’ trust.Credit...Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

By Shayla Colon

Nov. 22, 2024

A former New York City police officer was convicted on Friday of sex offenses involving four underage boys, including a robbery victim whom he befriended and then preyed on over Snapchat by sending him an explicit photo and asking for one in return.

The officer, Christopher Terranova, 34, of Staten Island, was convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn on all six counts of sexually exploiting, attempting to sexually exploit, enticing and coercing three 15-year-old boys and a 12-year-old boy, according to a news release. Prosecutors said he engaged in “hands-on sex acts” with two of the victims.

Mr. Terranova, who retired in September 2023 while he was suspended from the department, “abused his position as a police officer to gain the trust of his victims in a despicable strategy to gratify his sexual desires,” said Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, in a statement.

Vinoo Varghese, Mr. Terranova’s lawyer, said he would appeal. The former officer faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and could receive a life sentence, according to the news release.

“We’re disappointed in the verdict as there was more than enough reasonable doubt to acquit on all charges,” Mr. Varghese said.

He added: “This federal prosecution was a waste of taxpayer dollars and should have been just prosecuted locally. Chris, however, is a sexy target because he was a cop.”

That position of authority is at the heart of the case.

Prosecutors said Mr. Terranova targeted the robbery victim after the boy came to the 121st precinct on Staten Island to report the crime. The officer got the boy’s cellphone number from a department database and messaged him, saying he hated seeing “these things happen to good guys like yourself,” according to the news release.

He continued conversing with the boy about the robbery investigation, asking if he had any interest in the police department or its youth programs, while telling him that he had also “been through a lot” and was there if he ever wanted to talk, the release said.

These conversations went on between March and May of 2023 until Mr. Terranova asked the boy to add him on Snapchat and Instagram, asked him sexually explicit questions, sent him a photo of his genitals and asked for a sexually explicit photograph, the release said. The boy told his mother about the messages, and she reported it to the police.

Another boy, in Texas, met Mr. Terranova on social media and trusted him in part because he said he was a police officer, prosecutors said.

The officer traveled to Texas at least 16 times to visit the boy and bought a home in the child’s neighborhood, prosecutors said.

“You being with me … and making love to me is more than a sign of everything happens for a reason,” he wrote to the boy in a message, according to the news release.

Another time, prosecutors said, Mr. Terranova took an acquaintance’s son to a secluded location on the way home from a birthday party and “directed” the boy to engage in sex acts with him.

The officer also met a 12-year-old victim while he was on duty, later messaged him on Snapchat and solicited sexually explicit photos, according to the news release.

He was convicted after a five-day trial.

The Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for a comment Friday night.

Shayla Colon is a reporter covering New York City and a member of the 2024-25 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers. More about Shayla Colon