IS JAIL PUNISHMENT? –
July 14, 2025 – Terranova, who was found guilty of sexual exploitation of children and coercion and enticement of a minor, told a Federal Court judge he “was in a very dark place” because three of his fellow 121st Precinct officers had committed suicide. Christopher Terranova even went as far as buying a second home in Texas to be close to a teenage boy he was sexually abusing, and sent explicit chat posts to a teenage robbery victim.
Terranova apologized to his four victims, but denied sexually abusing two of them, telling one, “You know and I know that I never touched you,” and telling another, “Our relationship was certainly verbally inappropriate, but nothing physical began until you were 17.”
Terranova, 35, was convicted after a five-day trial in November on allegations he started inappropriate relationships with four underage boys, chatting them up by phone and on social media, and in two cases, engaging in “hands-on sexual activities” with them. The former cop denied the charges.
“This case is not about alcoholism. The defendant’s actions were calculated,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Bennek. “He made multiple trips to Texas. He bought a house.”
She added, “This defendant has left child after child deeply traumatized, with wounds that they will have to deal with for the rest of their lives.”
Terranova asked for the mandatory minimum 15 years in prison, with his lawyer, Vinoo Varghese, pointing out that he was a “gay man struggling with his own identity.”
Judge Kiyo Matsumoto countered, though, “Confusion about one’s sexuality does not equate with the acts, or excuse the acts Mr. Terranova committed against his young victims.”
