The FBI says Joseph Toews, 30, also bought child pornography on the dark web
A Manhattan Beach therapist who worked with children as part of his family practice was busted by the FBI and charged with secretly recording young girls in a public restroom and buying child pornography on the dark web.
Joseph Toews, 30, who lives in Playa Vista, was arrested by FBI agents after he was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly producing and buying child pornography, according to a recently unsealed complaint. Toews, whose patients included “minor children,” federal prosecutors say, worked at Neuro Wellness Spa Psychiatrists & TMS Therapy, located at 1101 North Sepulveda Boulevard in Manhattan Beach. He ran a family therapy practice in Suite #201, according to a criminal complaint.
Toews is accused of not only planting a camera in a restroom to record girls prosecutors say were “between approximately 8 and 12 years old in what appeared to be a public restroom,” but he also used a clandestine Bitcoin account to buy child pornography. Prosecutors say the sites “Child Porno Studio Video Store,” “Loliporn Directory,” “Pedo Play,” and others.
That evidence led to an FBI raid at his home late last year and a search of his Manhattan Beach office, according to a complaint. Investigators recovered graphic imagery on his devices, according to the complaint. The FBI believes there could be other victims and is urging anyone aware of such activity by Toews or who believes they have information about a possible victim to contact agents at 310-477-6565 or online at tips.fbi.gov.
Toews was arrested in April, and the court deemed him a danger to the public, so he is being held without bail, according to a recent filing.