Convicted sexual predator gets state prison sentence
‘Pied Piper’ of Glenolden sexually abused children, is also an admitted arsonist
MEDIA COURTHOUSE » A former volunteer firefighter already serving a 28-year federal sentence for manufacturing child pornography was deemed a sexually violent predator Tuesday by Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge George Pagano and given a consecutive state sentence of 21 to 42 years in prison.
John Corcoran IV, 22, of the first block of North Ridgeway Avenue in Glenolden, was also sentenced to nine years of consecutive probation and will have to register as a sex offender for life.
“This is one of the most pervasive cases of sexual abuse over an extended period of time and over an extended range of victims that we’ve dealt with in Delaware County,” said Deputy District Attorney Michael Galantino. “Most of these children, if not all of them, were children from the community who were befriended by the defendant in the neighborhood.”
Corcoran entered open guilty pleas before Pagano in February to two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, one count of criminal solicitation to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and one count of criminal solicitation to commit indecent assault. He also entered “no contest” pleas to one count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, two counts of criminal solicitation to commit indecent assault and three counts of child sexual abuse.
Corcoran, represented by defense attorney Scott Godshall, additionally entered open guilty pleas to three counts each of arson, corruption of minors and conspiracy to arson in November. It was those fires, investigated by Folcroft Officer Daniel White, that brought the child sexual abuse to light.
Corcoran, a former member of the Goodwill Fire Co. No. 1 in Darby Township, was arrested with a 17-year-old male accomplice in August 2014 for the trio of fires in vacant homes between May and July. Two of the fires were in the Briarcliffe section of the township and one was in Folcroft. The minor, a Tinicum resident, was charged as a juvenile and later identified as one of Corcoran’s victims, according to Assistant District Attorney Sandra Urban, who prosecuted the arsons.
Corcoran – who endeared himself to police and fire fighters as “little Johnny” at a young age – admitted his role in those fires after being called in for questioning Aug. 2, 2014.
Corcoran was charged again in January 2015 for sexually exploiting or abusing more than two dozen young victims. He pleaded guilty in a Philadelphia federal court in July 2016 to 20 counts of using or inducing a child to pose for child pornography images and one count of possession of child pornography, for which he was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison in October.
Court documents described Corcoran as “the Pied Piper of the neighborhood, in that he always had a trail of children following him.” The victims ranged in age from 5 to 14.
Corcoran would groom his victims by giving them money, buying them food from McDonald’s, giving them toys, or by letting them swim in his pool and hot tub. In exchange, Corcoran made them engage in mutual masturbation, perform oral sex upon him and allow him to perform oral sex on them. Corcoran also made some of the older boys perform sex acts on their younger brothers while he watched and masturbated.
Corcoran would videotape or photograph his victims using a cellphone and transfer the images to his computer, according to authorities. His voice can be heard on each video.
Galantino said Tuesday that Corcoran also had some of his victims recruit new members into the group. He also noted that much of the child pornography was produced after Corcoran had made bail in the arson case.
Most of the crimes took place at the Glenolden home Corcoran shared with his parents, though others occurred at the Ridley YMCA and the Swedish Cabin historic site in Upper Darby. Neither Corcoran’s parents nor the YMCA said they were aware of the assaults. The federal indictment also indicated Corcoran abused one child in Garnet Valley in June 2014.
Godshall argued that it was premature to affix the sexually violent predator label to his client, who he said might change drastically during his 28 years in federal prison. Godshall asked that any sentence imposed Tuesday run concurrent to the federal sentence.
But Galantino noted only eight of Corcoran’s 24 to 28 total victims were represented in the federal plea and sentence. Failing to impose an additional state sentence for the remaining victims would essentially be saying that Corcoran got away scot free on those crimes, he said.
“The families of those children need to know that what he did to those children matters too,” said Galantino.
Urban made much the same argument with the arson charges, pushing for consecutive sentences in those separate and distinct crimes.
Corcoran’s family members and several parents of the victims were also present in court Tuesday. Among them was a mother of three affected children who said they looked up to Corcoran as a role model and a mentor.
One man, a single father, said his 12- and 7-year-old sons now hate each other and fight constantly, with each other and other children. Neither can discuss the abuse with him.
“I think that the 28 years he received isn’t long enough, because my kids have to live the rest of their lives tormented,” he said. “So do I.”
“It’s very hard for my child to trust anybody anymore,” said one woman. “I don’t allow my kids to leave my house any more. We trusted him to be in our house with our children and this is the worst way to pay somebody back.”
All of the parents said their children are undergoing therapy and are worried for what the future holds for them.
“I would just like to say that I’m sorry for what I’ve done and I’m going to do whatever I can to make myself a better person,” Corcoran said.
“Obviously, I wish I could wave a magic wand and make this all go away,” said Pagano before delivering the sentence. “There are a lot of people who have been hurt here, and justice requires that I consider the victims and also the defendant. But I have a responsibility to make sure that society is protected.”
The federal and state sentences together ensure that Corcoran will be at least 71 years old before he is eligible for parole. He was also ordered to pay $21,282 in restitution for the fires.