A man was taken into custody by deputies from Hillsborough County, Florida, on suspicion that he was using social networking platforms to obtain sexual content from many kids and then blackmail them.
After getting a tip from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children on February 5, 2025, that is when the investigation against Sunghyun Kim, who is 29 years old, was initiated by the detectives. They claimed that the anonymous information came from one of the victims, who claimed that the suspect had sexually exploited them and blackmailed them financially.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, detectives discovered that the suspect was connecting with many kids through social networking platforms, getting sexual content from them, and then blackmailing them. This information was gathered over the course of three months.
A search warrant was carried out at Kim’s residence in Riverview on May 20, 2025, by the Internet Predator Unit of the Houston County Sheriff’s Office.
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During the course of the search warrant, the detectives were able to seize a number of electronic devices and reported discovering over a thousand files including child sexual abuse material as well as computer-generated child sexual abuse material.
In addition, 45 files were found by the investigators that depicted sexual behaviour with different animals.
There are charges against Kim for:
- A possession of child pornography that includes ten or more photos and the content of those images (x100)
- Being in possession of child pornography that was developed (x100)
- Videos or photographs that portray sexual conduct with an animal are prohibited to be filmed, distributed, or possessed (x45).
- Encouragement of sexual performance by a child (over fourteen times)
- The disclosure of potentially hazardous information to a child (x9)
- Exhibition of obscene or lascivious behaviour through the use of a computer service (x6)
“To manipulate and extort underage victims for his sick gratification is beyond disgusting, it’s evil,” Sheriff Chad Chronister stated. “Let me be clear: anyone who preys on children will face the full force of the law. We will not tolerate this in our community.”
It is requested that anyone who has reason to believe that they have been victimised by Sunghyun Kim get in touch with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office as soon as possible at the number 813-247-8200.
