A 62-year-old dual U.S.-Canadian citizen who allegedly exploited a child aboard his oceangoing sailboat was arrested in Canada after the FBI warned he might flee across the Pacific.
Donald Steven Lang was taken into custody over the weekend by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the request of the United States, federal authorities announced Tuesday. Lang faces a federal indictment out of Hawaii charging him with one count of sexual exploitation of children, a charge that carries a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and up to 30 years if convicted.
The arrest capped a multi-agency hunt that stretched across international borders. The FBI had flagged Lang as an escape risk and offered a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to his capture, warning that he could be sailing across the Pacific to avoid prosecution.
The federal indictment, filed August 20 in Hawaii, alleges Lang "attempted to and knowingly used, persuaded, induced, enticed or coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions." The alleged exploitation took place between September and December 2024 aboard Lang's vessel, a 55-foot, 1985 Taylor Hatfield oceangoing sailboat named Ishi.
Lang was last seen aboard the Ishi in Hawaii in January 2025, roughly a month after the alleged abuse period ended. The Department of Justice said Lang was known to sail around the world and frequently harbored in Hawaii.
The FBI identified a wide net of possible destinations where Lang might have fled: Fiji, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and the Marquesas Islands. Investigators also noted ties to Idaho, Washington state, and California.
Those ties to Idaho proved significant. Kootenai County prosecutors had already charged Lang in April 2025 with three counts of lewd conduct toward a minor under 16 and one count of sexual battery of a minor. Those state charges stem from allegations that Lang sexually assaulted a minor between 2003 and 2007, a separate case from the federal indictment.
FBI Criminal Assistant Director Heith Janke said Lang had been accused by multiple victims of sexually abusing minors. Janke told Fox News:
"The FBI remains committed to identifying, investigating, and bringing offenders to justice who prey on some of the most vulnerable members of our communities."
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva struck a similar tone:
"Protecting children from sexual predators is a priority of the highest order. We will continue to pursue this alleged offender and work with our law enforcement partners to return him to the United States to face trial for the crimes he is charged with committing."
The DOJ's Office of International Affairs helped secure the arrest. On the Canadian side, the operation drew on RCMP Pacific Region along with Tofino General Duty officers, Island District GIS, the Nanaimo Detachment, and Island District ERT, a substantial deployment for a single suspect.
If Lang is convicted on the federal charge, prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of the Ishi itself, along with his digital devices and storage media, including a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra phone. The forfeiture request signals that investigators believe the sailboat and the phone contain evidence tied directly to the alleged exploitation.
Beyond prison time, a conviction would expose Lang to a fine of up to $250,000 and supervised release ranging from five years to life.
The timeline of allegations against Lang now spans more than two decades. The Idaho charges reach back to conduct prosecutors say occurred between 2003 and 2007. The Hawaii indictment covers alleged crimes committed last fall. And the FBI's statement that multiple victims have come forward suggests the full scope of the case may still be emerging.
What remains unclear is whether Lang has been extradited to the United States or whether that process is still underway. Canadian authorities have not disclosed the specific location of his arrest, though the involvement of RCMP units based on Vancouver Island points to the British Columbia coast.
A man accused of preying on children aboard a sailboat he could steer anywhere in the world is now in custody because law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border refused to let the ocean become a hiding place. That is exactly how the system is supposed to work.
