Canadian Child Predator Given 33-Year Sentence in D.C. for Targeting 145 Minors Aged Six and Up

Canadian Sentenced for Sexual Extortion of Children

A U.S. court has sentenced Ramanan Pathmanathan, 40, from Canada, to 33 years in federal prison for his involvement in a horrific sexual extortion scheme that affected over 100 children, as announced by District of Columbia Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Wednesday.

Between 2014 and his arrest on March 10, 2021, Pathmanathan, residing in Toronto, used various social media accounts to target at least 145 minors, including some as young as six years old. Pirro described this as a “massive sextortion scheme,” inflicting unimaginable trauma on innocent children.

Pathmanathan, masquerading as a teenage boy from New Jersey, would ask his victims to perform explicit sexual acts via video chat. Disturbingly, he even coerced young victims into engaging in sexual acts with animals and relatives.

He would send explicit images to victims, record their acts, and store the videos on his computer. If victims refused his demands or blocked him, he would resort to blackmail, threatening to share the footage with their friends and family.

In January, Pathmanathan pleaded guilty to charges of producing child pornography and coercing a minor. He was also convicted in a Canadian court in 2022 on similar charges, receiving a 12-year sentence there. His U.S. sentence will run consecutively with his Canadian punishment. Additionally, he will undergo 10 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.

U.S. Attorney Pirro stated, “This defendant systematically hunted children online for years. He targeted more than 145 victims, some as young as 6 years old.”

“The United States will not allow our borders to become a haven for child predators, and we are grateful to our partners in Canada for ensuring these predators face justice on both sides of the border,” she added.

This conviction followed an investigation by the FBI Houston Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force along with the Texas Department of Public Safety. The U.S. Department of Justice facilitated his extradition from Canada.

According to court documents reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the investigation started after a victim’s mother reached out to local police, leading them to trace Pathmanathan’s IP address in Canada. Notably, his last victim, a 13-year-old girl, was assaulted on the same day he was apprehended.