Utah man accused of buying child porn used cryptocurrency. Authorities say it’s the first known case

The office of the Utah Attorney General at the Capitol in Salt Lake City is pictured on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

A Utah man has been arrested in what the attorney general’s office says is the state’s first known case where cryptocurrency was used to purchase child sex abuse material. 

Christopher Merritt, 39, was charged in Salt Lake County’s 3rd District Court last week with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, all felonies. 

The case was investigated by the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, stemming from a tip from the electronic trading platform Robinhood. According to Robinhood, cryptocurrency — specifically Bitcoin and Ethereum — had been transferred to a wallet linked to child sexual abuse material, commonly known as child pornography. 

A wallet is how cryptocurrency investors store their keys, which are essentially passwords giving the owner access to their investments, and allowing them to send and receive cryptocurrency. 

The attorney general’s office said the transaction took place on the dark web, a corner of the internet that is not indexed by search engines, like Chrome or Safari, and can be accessed through specialized software. Though not illegal, the dark web is often associated with criminal activities, since it’s easier to remain anonymous.  

An agent with the task force traced Merritt’s cryptocurrency transactions and found that his cryptocurrency wallet had sent funds to another wallet that the Internet Watch Foundation had associated with child pornography, according to court documents. 

According to a probable cause statement, Merritt sent $321 to sites associated with child pornography. When officers served a warrant on Merritt’s home, they searched his phone and found “hundreds of videos and images of children” being sexually assaulted, according to court documents. Officers also found a Tor browser on his phone and computer, which is used to access the dark web. 

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