Andover Exec Facing Child Porn Charges Due In Court This Week

ANDOVER, MA -- John Curran, the Andover resident and executive Andover-based Philips Healthcare arrested in August on child pornorgraphy charges, is scheduled to be in court Thursday for a probable cause hearing. Last month law enforcement officials met with Curran's neighbors on Algonquin Avenue and nearby streets, including Chadwick Circle. The neighbors had raised concerns after Curran's arrest.

Thursday's hearing is a routine hearing and part of the pre-trial procedure in criminal cases. In such hearings a judge determines whether probable cuase existed before the defendant was arrested and searches were executed.

Curran, 58, was arrested without incident at his home after Andover Police executed a search warrant of the residence. Curran still lists himself as senior director of information services at Philips. The company, where Curran satrted working in 2009, has not responded to requests for comment.

The arrest was part of a multi-department investigation that included the Massachusetts State Police Computer Forensic Unit and a member of the Rowley Police Department who is assigned as a Task Force Officer in the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Curran pleaded not guilty in Lawrence District Court in August and was released on $7,500 bail. As a condition of his release, Curran was ordered to surrender his passport and stay away from children under the age of 12.

According to court documents, police started investigating Curran in February an investigator with Internet Crimes Against Children who is an officer with the Rowley Police Department discovered that Curran had downloaded images. After subpoenaing records from Verizon, police received a search warrant that was executed Wednesday.

Curran, who is married and has two grown children, told police his wife did not know about the child pornography. While he initially denied sharing files and said he did not have knowledge of child pornography on his computer, he later told police that he had exchanged files of clothed children for videos and images of underaged girls posed naked and involved in various sex acts.

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Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).