Canadian man pleads guilty in U.S. to sexually exploiting more than 100 children online
A Canadian man has pleaded guilty to the production of child pornography and to coercion and enticement of a minor, after admitting he sexually exploited more than 100 children by creating an online persona and targeting them through social media, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced .
Ramanan Pathmanathan, 40, of Toronto, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday to the charges. Pathmanathan was arrested on Dec. 3 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,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement
“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.”
She added: “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 a plea agreement, Pathmanathan admitted that for seven years, up until the day of his arrest in Canada, he sexually exploited more than 100 minor females, posing as an American teenaged boy while communicating with the victims over popular social media platforms.
The victims ranged in ages from 11 to 17 years and were located all over the United States. While video chatting with them, Pathmanathan persuaded them to engage in sexually explicit acts and, without their knowledge, he screen recorded the behaviour, the Justice Department said. When the children refused to engage in further sexually explicit conduct, he would threaten to distribute the recorded videos to their families and friends.
According to court documents , between at least March 2014 and up until the day of his arrest on March 10, 2021, Pathmanathan posed as a teenage boy from New Jersey.
On Oct. 27, 2022, the department said, Pathmanathan pleaded guilty to similar offences in Canada, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
For the American charges, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 25 years, in addition to fines and a period of supervised release. He will also pay restitution consisting of no less than US$3,000 per victim. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 27.
The FBI Houston Field office investigated the case. The Justice Department thanked the Toronto Police Service for its assistance in the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood , a U.S. initiative launched in May 2026 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse launched. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOs, it uses federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
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