A Haverhill man, who worked as a Seabrook, N.H., police officer and facing multiple counts of child pornography in Massachusetts now must answer to a similar charge in federal court.
Forty-nine-year-old John Giarrusso III was arrested Thursday and charged with alleged receipt of child pornography. U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said he was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Boston. Giarrusso had also been scheduled to be in Haverhill District Court Thursday for a status hearing on the state charges. A federal press release reported he had been out on bail on the state charges.
Giarrusso’s local case was rescheduled to Sept. 11, according to the Haverhill District Court clerk’s office.
As WHAV reported at the time, Giarrusso was arrested by Haverhill Police Feb. 26 after the department received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He is alleged to have used an internet messaging app to discuss and share pornographic videos of children as young as six as they were being raped and assaulted, apparently by their parents and caregivers. To verify that he was who he said he was, he allegedly sent selfies that included his partially obscured police badge.
According to federal court documents, Giarrusso knowingly received video files that depicted child sexual abuse via the Kik app around Oct. 16 and 17, 2024. Prosecutors said, “It is alleged that the victims in these videos appeared to be between approximately five to 11 years old.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Soto of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The U.S. attorney’s office said anyone with questions, concerns or information about this case is asked to call 617-748-3274 or email [email protected].