Ex-South Jersey fire chief admits spreading child pornography

The former chief of Camden County's Audobon Park Volunteer Fire Company will be recommended for six years in state prison, three mandatory, and for registration as a sex offender, for indulging in child pornography on a computer at the firehouse.

Prosecutors also seek lifetime parole supervision for John Terruso, 46, of Marlton, and a permanent ban from public office or employment. Sentencing is scheduled for August 25, according to the office of New Jersey Attorney General Christoper S. Porrino.

In a Camden courtroom, Terruso pleaded guilty to a second-degree charge of distribution, and to a third-degree count of possession of 100 or more files.

Terruso was arrested in June 2015. According to authorities, Terruso today admitted creating multiple files with file-sharing software that opened downloading access to users through a computer he controlled at the fire station.

The probe began when a Homeland Security Investigations agent in Newark, monitoring a file-sharing network, identified a internet protocol address that was traced to the firehouse. Investigators at the time said that they discovered more than 1,000 files in Terruso's digital equipment.

New Jersey Deputy Attorney General John Nicodemo led the investigation. Terruso was represented by Somers Point attorney Andrew Butchko.