COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested a metro Atlanta pediatric dentist after a search warrant found child pornography videos at his home.
Dr. Paul Bogeun Kim faces federal possession of child pornography charges.
According to the complaint filed in federal court last month, Kim was connected to an IP address that had purchased child porn from a known child sexual exploitation ring. Investigators say Kim paid approximately $250 in cryptocurrency to the sexual exploitation ring.
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When agents searched Kim, they found his phone and laptop. His phone was determined to be the device used to complete the purchase.
He admitted to creating an account to purchase a video of a girl he believed was 17 or 18 years old.
At his home, agents found more devices, one of which included a file called “Minor Victim” which was a nearly 20-minute video of a young girl being forced to perform sexual acts by someone else over Snapchat. In the video, she identified herself as being 14, about to turn 15.
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FBI agents were able to interview a victim of the sexual exploitation ring and determined what she was forced to do matched the video on Kim’s hard drive.
Last week, a federal charge gave Kim a $100,000 bond and put him on monitored house arrest with no access to the internet or children.
Channel 2′s Michael Seiden stopped by Kim’s home in Sandy Springs, but no one came to the door when he knocked.
Neighbor Avery Grace Messner says she looked out of her family’s window last month and recorded the moments when federal agents with guns drawn surrounded her next-door neighbor’s house.
“They came in with guns on one side and they were all piled here and telling him to come out and they had a search warrant,” Messner said. “It was very scary.”
Dr. Kim worked for Dentistry for Children from August 2022 until November 2023. They shared a statement with Channel 2 Action News that read:
We recently learned about the alleged abhorrent behavior involving an Atlanta dentist, Dr. Paul Kim, who worked at Dentistry for Children from August 2022 through November 16, 2023. Dentistry for Children is fully cooperating with authorities. Importantly, we are not aware of any allegations involving any of the practice’s patients, or complaints regarding Dr. Kim or his interactions with patients, staff, or visitors to the practice.
At Dentistry for Children, patient safety is everyone’s top priority, and the practice adheres to robust policies and procedures to ensure the protection of its patients. These measures include:
Prior to being hired, a thorough background check is performed on all staff members and dentists, which includes a review of any local, state, or federal criminal history. These reviews also include ensuring that dentists are actively licensed by the Georgia Board of Dentistry – which maintains their own robust background reviews – to practice in the state.
With respect to Dr. Kim, none of these reviews indicated any concerns, and the first we were alerted to any potential issues involving him was when the news of his arrest broke this week
Finally, our offices follow safety protocols that prohibit 1 on 1 interactions between patients and any member of the practice office team, including dentists, and we have no indication to believe that Dr. Kim failed to maintain those procedures during his tenure at the practice
He works out of practices in Austell, Dunwoody and Forsyth County. The FBI has notified the licensing board.
A booking photo of Kim is unavailable because he faces federal charges. Booking photos are not taken in the federal system.
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