U.S. Department of Justice , 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington DC : A Canadian national pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after admitting he sexually exploited over 100 children by creating an online persona and targeting them on social media.
Ramanan Pathmanathan, 40, of Toronto, Canada, pleaded guilty to the production of child pornography and to coercion and enticement of a minor. Pathmanathan was arrested on Dec. 3, 2025, after being temporarily surrendered to the United States, where he has remained incarcerated pending trial.
“Today’s guilty plea marks a critical step toward justice for over 100 targeted victims in the United States who this predator harmed with his diabolical actions,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “For years, while hiding in another country behind a fabricated online persona, he used manipulation, threats, and fear to coerce unsuspecting juveniles into producing and engaging in sexually explicit acts, robbing them of their innocence. We will hold accountable anyone who preys on our children, including those who do it from behind a computer screen to ensure that victims are protected and treated with the dignity they deserve.”
As part of this plea agreement, Pathmanathan admitted that for seven years, up until the day of his arrest in Canada, Pathmanathan sexually exploited over 100 minor females. Pathmanathan posed as an American teenage boy while communicating with the minor victims over popular social media platforms. The victims ranged in ages from 11 to 17-years-old and were located all over the United States. While video chatting with the minor victims, Pathmanathan persuaded and coerced the children to engage in sexually explicit acts and, without their knowledge or consent, Pathmanathan screen recorded the minors while engaged in such behavior — collecting the videos of his abuse. When the children refused to engage in further sexually explicit conduct, Pathmanathan then further exploited them by threatening to distribute the recorded videos to their families and friends.
On Oct. 27, 2022, Pathmanathan pleaded guilty to similar offenses in Canada, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison under Canadian law.
For these charges, Pathmanathan faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison, in addition to fines and a period of supervised release. He will also pay restitution consisting of no less than $3,000 per victim. Pathmanathan is scheduled to be sentenced on May 27.
The FBI Houston Field office investigated the case. The Justice Department is grateful to the Toronto Police Service for their invaluable assistance. The Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division secured the temporary surrender of Pathmanathan from Canada.
Trial Attorney Kaylynn Foulon of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Shinskie for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
