WASHINGTON — A Canadian man pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court on Tuesday to sexually exploiting more than 100 children across the United States, concluding a years-long international investigation into a scheme that used social media to coerce minors.
Ramanan Pathmanathan, 40, of Toronto, entered his plea in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to charges of production of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor. He was arrested on Dec. 3 after being temporarily surrendered by Canadian authorities and has remained in U.S. custody.
According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Pathmanathan admitted to posing as an American teenage boy on popular social media platforms for seven years, targeting girls between the ages of 11 and 17. He would persuade and coerce them into performing sexually explicit acts during video chats, which he secretly recorded.
When victims resisted further exploitation, Pathmanathan threatened to distribute the recorded videos to their families and friends, officials said.
“For years, while hiding in another country behind a fabricated online persona, he used manipulation, threats, and fear to coerce unsuspecting juveniles,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division in a statement.
The investigation was led by the FBI’s Houston Field Office with assistance from the Toronto Police Service. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs secured Pathmanathan’s transfer from Canada, where he was already serving a 12-year prison sentence for similar offenses after a 2022 guilty plea.
Pathmanathan now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in U.S. prison, with a maximum penalty of life. He is also ordered to pay restitution of at least $3,000 to each identified victim. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 27.
