Former Massachusetts child psychologist convicted of child pornography

Crime

The Danvers man kept thousands of images of child pornography in his old apartment, prosecutors said.

Essex County Prosecutor Paul Tucker. Jaime Campos / Swimming pool, File

A former child psychologist has been sentenced to three to four years in prison for child pornography.

Mark Ternullo, 71, of Danvers, was found guilty of two counts of possession of child pornography last Friday after a three-day jury trial in Salem Superior Court, the county attorney’s office announced Wednesday of Essex, Paul Tucker. Judge Thomas Drechsler also sentenced him to three years of probation following his release.

During the trial, Assistant Prosecutor 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 building owner was carrying out renovations and noticed a small enclosed space containing the images,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Authorities found additional photos on Ternullo’s hard drive.

Ternullo previously worked as a child and family psychologist for more than 20 years, working in schools in Beverly, Gloucester, Methuen, Middleton, Newburyport and Newton, the prosecutor’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 building and complete a sex offender evaluation, the release states.