Horsham Man Charged With Child Porn, Exploitation

HORSHAM, PA — Federal prosecutors have accused a Horsham man of soliciting sexually explicit photos of girls between ages 14-16 and meeting one of the girls and having sex with her.

Richard Blong, 28, is charged with multiple counts of child exploitation, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced on Tuesday. The charges include enticing a minor to engage in illicit sexual conduct, manufacturing child pornography and possession of child pornography.

Prosecutors say Blong went online to get three minor victims, all between 14 and 16, to send him sexually explicit photos of themselves. He also met with one of them, had sexual contact with her and took explicit photos of her, they say.

The offenses happened in 2018, the U.S. Attorney's officer claims.

"Child exploitation is a pervasive problem – made more so by the accessibility of the internet – that demands an aggressive response," McSwain said in a news release. " We stand ready with our federal and local partners to identify and prosecute those who would prey upon minor children using online resources."

If convicted, Blong faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison, which includes a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence and up to a lifetime of supervised release.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Montgomery County District Attorney's office detective bureau and the detective bureau of the Union County, N.J. prosecutor's office.