Volunteer firefighter already jailed for arson now accused of sexually assaulting 14 underage children

By RYAN GORMAN

A suburban Philadelphia volunteer firefighter previously arrested on arson charges now stands accused of raping and sexually abusing more than a dozen underage children.

John Corcoran, 20, faces 161 counts related to the abuse of 14 children aged eight to 14-years-old. He is accused of raping three of the children, sexually assaulting the others and forcing many to perform sex acts on each other, according to Philadelphia television station WTXF.

Corcoran, from Glenolden, Pennsylvania, was already jailed, along with a 17-year-old accomplice, for lighting fires in three vacant homes around Delaware County, according to the Daily Times.

The accused pedophile allegedly "lured and groomed" his victims before repeatedly sexually assaulting them over only a two-year span, according to the paper. Some of the assaults allegedly occurred at a local YMCA, WTXF reported.

The accused reportedly offered the victims cash and toys in exchange for satiating his depraved fantasies. Officials grimly admitted there may be even more victims and urged them to come forward.

Corcoran, formerly a volunteer with the Goodwill Fire Department, initially told police he responded to the fires along with other firefighters, according to the paper.

But subsequent investigations found him to be at fault.

Authorities who knew the accused arsonist told WPVI he often hung around the fire department as a child, telling anyone who would listen that he wanted to grow up to be a public servant.

He now faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in public custody.