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Former Mass. child psychologist sentenced for child porn
The Danvers man kept thousands of images of child pornography in his former apartment, prosecutors said.
A former child psychologist has been sentenced to three to four years in state prison on child pornography charges.
Mark Ternullo, 71, of Danvers was found guilty on two counts of possession of child pornography last Friday after a three-day jury trial in Superior Court in Salem, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker’s office announced Wednesday. Judge Thomas Drechsler also sentenced him to three years of probation after his release.
During the trial, Assistant District Attorney Maria Markos showed evidence that Ternullo kept thousands of images of child pornography in his former apartment in Danvers, authorities said.
“The discovery of the images came to light in early 2022 when a contractor hired by the owner of the apartment building was conducting renovations and noticed a small enclosed space containing the images,” the DA’s office said.
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Authorities found additional photos on Ternullo’s hard drive.
Ternullo had previously worked as a child and family psychologist for over 20 years, working in schools in Beverly, Gloucester, Methuen, Middleton, Newburyport, and Newton, the DA’s office said. The state suspended Ternullo’s license to practice psychology in 2022.
Ternullo will also be required to register as a sex offender, have no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18, stay away from witnesses and his former apartment building, and complete a sex offender evaluation, the statement said.
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