Danvers Man With 'Hidden Room' Of Child Pornography Arraigned

DANVERS, MA — A Danvers man accused of having a "hidden room" with hundreds of images of child pornography was arraigned in Salem District Court on Thursday.

The Essex County District Attorney's Office said Mark Ternullo, 68, was charged with child pornography after a contractor hired to renovate the bathroom of Ternullo's apartment removed the wall behind the bathtub because of extensive water damage and "found a hidden room in which multiple boxes full of pornographic images of children were stored."

Ternullo was ordered held on $10,000 bail on the conditions he remains under house arrest with a GPS monitoring device, does not have any contact with children under 18 years old and does not use the internet.

The DA's Office said the owner of the multi-family home contacted Danvers police on Wednesday and told them what the contractor had found. Danvers police then conducted a search warrant search of the apartment with the assistance of the Massachusetts State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Crime Scene Services.

The DA's Office said Ternullo has lived in the apartment for the past 23 years.

A pre-trial conference is scheduled for March 7, 2022.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Information for this article was supplied by the Essex County District Attorney's Office. Patch follows a name removal policy for those listed in its published police reports.