Philadelphia Man Sentenced to More Than 35 Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing Children, Recording and Sharing Images of the Abuse, and Related Offenses

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Joshua Lang, 37, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Timothy J. Savage to 430 months in prison and lifetime supervised release for extensive child sexual exploitation and child pornography offenses. The defendant was also ordered to pay $23,545 in restitution and $14,300 in special assessments.

As detailed in court filings, the crimes of Lang and his partner, co-defendant Kenneth Miller, came to light after the Philadelphia Police Department Special Victims Unit (PPD SVU) began investigating a lead from the Tampa (Fla.) Police Department in July 2023 that Lang had purchased child pornography from a 13-year-old girl on Instagram in December 2022.

On July 19, 2023, PPD SVU and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Philadelphia executed a state search warrant at Lang and Miller’s Mayfair residence based on this information. As the search unfolded, law enforcement learned that Lang and Miller’s child sexual abuse and exploitation activities extended far beyond Lang’s online activities, to include hands-on sexual abuse of children, and their scheme to manufacture, trade, and collect videos and images of one of their victims, his siblings, and his friends.

Lang and Miller were arrested the same day and charged in Philadelphia County with numerous sexual offenses. They remained in Philadelphia County custody until they were charged in federal court via complaint and warrant in September 2023.

On February 8, 2024, a federal grand jury returned a 16-count indictment against Lang and Miller, charging them with conspiracy to manufacture child pornography and six counts of manufacture and aiding and abetting the manufacture of child pornography. Lang was also charged with three additional counts of manufacture and attempted manufacture of child pornography and three additional counts of receipt of child pornography.

Miller, who pleaded guilty to multiple offenses, was sentenced in September of last year to 400 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release.

The investigation showed, and the defendants subsequently admitted, that over the course of approximately three years, they sexually abused Minor 1 when he was between the ages of 12 and 14 years old, recording videos of the acts to forever memorialize the child’s abuse. The pair also installed hidden cameras in their bathroom and surreptitiously produced and attempted to produce sexually explicit images of at least five children, ages nine to 17, using the bathroom and showering at their residence.

Throughout this three-year period, on a near-daily basis, Lang and Miller discussed with each other their sexual interest in children, strategized ways to groom minor children for sexual abuse and exploitation, and carried out these tactics to gain the child victims’ trust and further increase their access to these children. The defendants also regularly traded and discussed the images and videos of child sexual abuse material that they created of the children.

On his own, Lang also engaged in and recorded hands-on sexual abuse of Minor 2 when she was between the ages of eight and nine years old, sharing the videos with Miller. Lang was also well immersed in the online world of child exploitation, amassing a collection of more than 13,000 unique files of child sexual abuse material (“CSAM”) on his iPhone, including the images purchased online from a 13-year-old girl that kicked off PPD SVU’s investigation.

“The crimes Lang committed are stomach-turning,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “He sexually abused two children, documented that exploitation, and violated the privacy and trust of other children for his and his partner’s gratification. Together, they strategized ways to sexually groom minors to whom they had access. Our community is emphatically safer with these predators in prison, and today’s sentence ensures Lang will remain behind bars where he can’t harm another innocent child.”

“Today’s sentencing brings a just end to the depravity of two grown men, Joshua Lang and Kenneth Miller, who conspired to sexually exploit and abuse innocent children over an extended period of time. Their actions were not only reprehensible but meticulously planned and executed,” said Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia Edward V. Owens. “The collaborative efforts of HSI Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania were crucial in uncovering the full extent of their vile actions and bringing them to justice. We remain steadfast in our commitment to relentlessly pursuing those who engage in such abhorrent crimes and safeguarding our communities from such predators.”

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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department and HSI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kelly Harrell and Amanda McCool.