On December 14th, a former officer working with the New York Police Department was arrested and charged with child exploitation and the coercion of minors. The 34-year-old male, Christopher Terranova, had been working with NYPD since at least 2011. He has been suspended following these recent allegations.

According to the indictment, Terranova was abusing his access to NYPD databases. In one incident, Terranova is accused of using the NYPD database to look up the contact information of a 15-year-old boy who had been robbed. The former officer reached out to the victim under the guise of pretending to care about the boy’s well-being. It wasn’t long after initiating conversations, though, that the officer started to engage in sexual conversations. Over time, the former police officer began soliciting explicit photographs of the minor.

Sadly, Terranova also targeted other minor males in the area and online. Investigators found that the suspect was using social media platforms, like Snapchat, to seek out minors and then start to chat with them. Eventually, the conversations would pivot to being sexual in nature.

In one incident, authorities suspect that Terranova contacted a minor, met up with them, and then brought them to a secluded location after offering to give them a ride home. Police have reason to believe that the officer directed the minor to engage in sex acts in exchange for the ride home.

Sadly, the facts of this case suggest that the former officer was abusing his position of power to prey on vulnerable minors. The suspect had also previously been arrested on state charges. Now, he faces a minimum sentence of 15 years of imprisonment and a maximum of life if he is convicted of his current charges.

The Consequences of Getting Convicted of a Sex Crime

If the suspect is convicted, then he will also face a host of other consequences even if he doesn’t serve life in prison. For one, any former police officer that’s convicted of a crime will be subject to termination. Considering the weight of the charges against the suspect, it’s likely that he will be barred from ever working around minor children again.

For another, sex crime convictions require the suspect to put themselves on a public sex offender registry. Offenders must register in the jurisdiction where they live or work, and they must make in-person appearances to verify and update their information regularly. Once on the registry, an offender’s convictions, addresses, and personal information will all be viewable by the public.

If the conviction is a felony, then you will also lose specific rights including the right to possess firearms and vote. Depending on your specific charges, you could also face jail time, probation, fines, and other criminal consequences.

Have you recently been charged with a sex crime? The best way to avoid the penalties associated with these crimes is to avoid a conviction. Schedule a meeting with our lawyers now to learn more about your legal rights, defense strategies, and options moving forward.