A former police officer from Seabrook, New Hampshire, has been indicted on a federal charge related to the receipt of child sexual abuse material. John Giarrusso, 49, of Haverhill, was charged with one count of receipt of child pornography following his arrest in August 2025. He is expected to be arraigned in federal court in Boston at a later date.
According to court documents, Giarrusso allegedly received video files depicting child sexual abuse material through the Kik messaging platform between October 16 and October 17, 2024. The children shown in these videos appeared to be between five and eleven years old.
If convicted, Giarrusso faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to twenty years in prison. The charge also carries at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, as well as a fine that could reach $250,000. Sentencing decisions will be made by a federal district court judge according to U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant statutes.
“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.”
The prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a national effort launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006—to combat child exploitation crimes using coordinated resources from federal, state, and local agencies (https://www.justice.gov/psc).
Authorities emphasized that all information outlined in charging documents remains an allegation until proven otherwise: “The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
