Sharon Man Allegedly Bought Child Porn With Bitcoin

SHARON, MA — A Sharon man appeared in U.S. Federal Court in Boston on child pornography charges Thursday.

Phillip Hong, who is in his early 20s, was arraigned Thursday and pleaded not guilty to receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. In April, Hong was ordered held on $25,000 cash bond.

FBI investigators went to Hong's Hampshire Street home on March 28. It was then Hong allegedly admitted to using a TOR network to access websites that sold child porn. He told investigators that paid for access with bitcoin and was able to download multiple files. He last visited the site in 2017, he said.

Hong allegedly confess that were "a lot" of child pornography files in various locations. Files found on Hong's laptop, external hard drive, and cell phone include a nearly 2-minute video with a girl that appeared to be 8 years old and a nearly 20-minute video with a bound and masked girl that was close to 7-years old, according to an affidavit.

Hong is due back in court Sept. 6 for a status conference hearing.

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