Gaithersburg Man Pleads Guilty To Child Porn, Extortion Charges

GAITHERSBURG, MD — A Gaithersburg man pleaded guilty Wednesday to receiving child pornography and blackmailing underage girls for sexually explicit material, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Zhi Tian Lang, 23, faces up to 20 years in prison for receipt of child pornography and a maximum of two years in prison for extortion by threat to ruin the reputation of another, prosecutors announced Thursday. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8, 2020.

Citing Lang's guilty plea, prosecutors said the Gaithersburg resident used an Internet messaging application under the name "Seth" to speak with 13- to 17-year-old girls across the United States. Those interactions, according to officials, lasted between at least January and October 2014.

Prosecutors said Lang would obtain pictures of the girls by flirting with them and going through their social media accounts. The pictures often depicted the victims in their underwear.

Lang then demanded that the girls send him nude photos, or else he'd "post the initial pictures on a public Internet account or send them directly to one or more of the victim's acquaintances," prosecutors said.

At least eight underage girls complied and sent Lang sexually explicit photos and/or videos of themselves, according to officials. Lang admitted to posting pictures of the victims online and sending at least one photo to another individual, prosecutors said.

As a result of his conviction, Lang will be required to register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student. Lang will also be required to pay a special assessment of $5,000, if he can afford it.