Manhattan Beach therapist sentenced for secretly recording patients in bathroom

A Manhattan Beach family therapist was sentenced to federal prison for secretly recording young girls in a bathroom, some of whom were his patients.

Joseph Toews, 31, was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison, ordered to pay $105,000, and to 25 years of supervised release after his prison sentence ends. 

Toews pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography on June 23, 2026, roughly two months after the FBI arrested him. 

The Department of Justice said he installed the camera inside a stall of the women's bathroom at his office around January 2023. Prosecutors said that he secretly recorded 11 separate videos of minor victims, some of whom were his patients. 

FBI said the victims were between the ages of 8 and 12. 

As part of his plea agreement, Toews admitted to receiving child sexual abuse material and buying sexually explicit videos of children through online stores on the darknet. 

Prosecutors said Toews actions were "not a spur-of-the-moment happening" and that he had "been stockpiling CSAM" before installing the hidden camera.