Maryland Man Sentenced to Over 14 Years in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

DOJ Press

SAN ANTONIO – A Maryland man was sentenced today to 170 months in prison for possession of child pornography.

According to court documents and testimony at trial, Hae Yeong Song, 29, was stationed at Joint Base San Antonio and was a private first class in the Army.  Around January 2018, Song’s cell phone was searched as part of an investigation by the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command into another matter.  Images and videos of child pornography were found on Song’s phone.  In addition, conversations between Song and an unidentified Korean national were discovered.  In those conversations, Song requested child pornography images of elementary aged children.

On July 21, 2021, U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra found Song guilty of one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.  Song has remained in federal custody since his guilty verdict in July 2021.

In addition to the prison sentence, Song was ordered to pay $22,500 in restitution.


“This case involved the sexual abuse of children as young as three years old,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “Child predators inflict immeasurable harm and we will continue to work closely with our partners to deliver justice for victims.”


“The FBI is adamant about protecting children online – to include graphic images and videos of children,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs. “Those who traffic in obscene material continue the abuse of that child that was captured when the file was created. The FBI will work tirelessly to prosecute these offenders that continue to traffic and possess these types of files.”

The FBI, with assistance from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bettina Richardson and Eric Yuen prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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