Joshua Lang, a 37-year-old resident of Philadelphia, was sentenced to 430 months in prison and lifetime supervised release for child sexual exploitation and child pornography offenses. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Timothy J. Savage. Lang is also required to pay $23,545 in restitution and $14,300 in special assessments.
The investigation began after the Tampa Police Department provided a lead to the Philadelphia Police Department Special Victims Unit (PPD SVU) in July 2023. Authorities learned 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 search warrant at the Mayfair residence shared by Lang and his partner Kenneth Miller.
During the search, law enforcement discovered that both men were involved not only in online activities but also hands-on sexual abuse of children. They manufactured, traded, and collected videos and images involving one of their victims as well as other minors who visited their home.
Lang and Miller were arrested on July 19, 2023, facing multiple charges related to sexual offenses. After initially being held in Philadelphia County custody, they were charged federally via complaint and warrant two months later.
A federal grand jury indicted both men on February 8, 2024. Charges included conspiracy to manufacture child pornography and several counts of manufacturing or attempting to manufacture such material. Lang faced additional charges for receipt of child pornography.
Kenneth Miller pleaded guilty to several offenses and received a sentence of 400 months’ imprisonment with five years of supervised release.
Investigators found that over about three years, Lang and Miller sexually abused Minor 1 between ages twelve and fourteen while recording the acts. They also installed hidden cameras at their residence’s bathroom to produce explicit images of at least five children aged nine to seventeen without their knowledge.
The pair regularly discussed ways to groom minors for abuse during this period. They exchanged images they created with each other as part of their ongoing exploitation activities.
Lang separately engaged in sexual abuse against another minor between ages eight and nine; he recorded these acts as well and shared them with Miller. Authorities found more than thirteen thousand unique files containing child sexual abuse material on Lang’s iPhone.
“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 prosecution was part of Project Safe Childhood—a national initiative launched by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation through coordination among federal prosecutors like United States Attorneys’ Offices along with state agencies.
