U.S. courts sentenced 40 year-old Canadian national Ramanan Pathmanathan to 33 years in federal prison for his role in a harrowing, years-long sexual extortion scheme that targeted more than 100 children in the United States, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced on Wednesday.
Between 2014 and up until his arrest on March 10, 2021, Pathmanathan, a resident of Toronto, used multiple social media accounts to prey on at least 145 minor girls and boys — some as early as six years old — in what Pirro described in an official statement as a “prolific sextortion scheme” that subjected minors to horrors no child should ever experience.
Pathmanathan, posing as a purported teenage boy from New Jersey, demanded that his victims engage in sexually explicit conduct through video chat — going as far as to demand that his victims engage in sexual acts with dogs, siblings, and other relatives.
The child predator would sent sexually explicit images to his victims, and then record the victim’s sexually explicit conducts, saving the footage on his computer. Victims who refused to continue complying with his sexually explicit demands or blocked Pathmanathan’s social media accounts would then be extorted by Pathmanathan, who threatened the victims with having the images sent to their friends and family.
Pathmanathan pleaded guilty in January before Chief Judge James E. Boasberg to one count of production of children pornography and one court of coercion and enticement of a minor before Chief Judge James E. Boasberg. He also pleased guilty to similar charges at a Canadian court in 2022, which sentenced him to 12 years in prison. His 33-year prison term will run consecutively to the 12-year sentence he received in Canada. Additionally, Judge Boasberg ordered that Ramanan Pathmanathan serves ten years of supervised release and registers as a sex offender.
“This defendant spent years methodically hunting children online. He targeted more than 145 victims, some as young as six, and subjected them to horrors no child should ever experience,” U.S. Attorney Pirro said.
“The United States will not allow international borders to serve as a refuge for those who prey on children, and I am grateful to our Canadian partners for ensuring this predator faced justice on both sides of the border,” she continued.
His conviction is the result of an investigation by the FBI Houston Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force and the Texas Department of Public Safety. His temporary surrender from Canada was secured by the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), citing court documents, detailed that the investigation against Pathmanathan started after the mother of one of the victims contacted local police, who tracked his IP address to a residence in Canada. His final victim, a 13 year-old girl, had been exploited by the predator on the same day he was arrested.
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