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Child Predator sentenced to Life in Prison
On Monday, July 22, 2024, Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office prosecutors Brittney Aaron and Shanna Redwine selected a jury and began testimony in the State of Texas vs. Darrell Wayne Lang for the charge of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child. Prosecutors presented evidence that in September 2021, an undercover Detective with the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce began communicating with the defendant online. The defendant sent the detective child pornography and indicated that he sexually abused multiple children over many years. The detective identified the defendant and initiated a multi-agency, multi-state operation that resulted in the defendant’s arrest. Forensic experts analyzed data from the defendant’s electronic devices and discovered that he repeatedly and consistently sexually abused two children over seven years. The defendant recorded much of the sexual abuse of the children.
In addition to videos and images of the identified victims, the defendant possessed hundreds of photos and videos of child pornography that he obtained online. Prosecutors charged Lang with ten counts of Possession and Promotion of Child Pornography and Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance and accepted stacked sentences on those charges. The Montgomery County investigation led to related cases in Harris and Liberty counties. Given the multi-county nature of the offenses, Liberty County District Attorney Jennifer Bergman appointed Aaron and Redwine to assist in the prosecution of the Liberty County offenses where at least one child was sexually assaulted. On July 23, 2024, a Liberty County jury returned a guilty verdict for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child. Judge Kaycee Jones, presiding over the 75th Judicial District Court, granted the State’s request to assess a life sentence and to stack that sentence on the prison sentences the defendant was already serving. The defendant will never be eligible for parole.
The Montgomery County arm of the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce coordinated the investigation and prosecution. The Houston Metro ICAC Taskforce is part of a national network of 61 coordinated task forces, representing over 4,500 federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies, dedicated to investigating, prosecuting, and developing effective responses to internet crimes against children.
The Montgomery County Pct. 1 Constables Office led the investigation along with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. Conroe Police Department, Montgomery County Pct. 2 Constables Office, Montgomery County Pct. 3 Constables Office, Montgomery County Pct. 4 Constables Office, Montgomery County Pct. 5 Constables Office, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Liberty County District Attorney’s Office, and other members of the Houston-Metro ICAC Task Force provided evidence and support in the investigation and prosecution.
Chief Brittney Aaron stated, “While most children are learning to ride their bikes or asking to go to the park, this Defendant was exploiting their innocence, teaching them to engage in acts that would make any adult recoil in horror. In a conversation with the Detective’s undercover persona, he admitted that we had gathered enough evidence to ensure his imprisonment for life. And that is exactly what we achieved.”
District Attorney Brett Ligon said, “I am very intentional when I use the word ‘monster’ to name Darrell W. Lang. He terrorized and then victimized these innocent little babies. But there are heroes as well—these kids were strong enough to survive what he did, along with the other heroes who investigated then prosecuted him. He will never touch another child again and will rightly spend the rest of his miserable life in prison paying for these crimes. May God have mercy on his soul because the rest of him belongs to the Texas Department of Corrections.”
Source: Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office
