Washington, D.C. — A Canadian national has pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually exploiting more than 100 children across the United States by posing as a teenage boy online and coercing minors into producing sexually explicit material.
Ramanan Pathmanathan, 40, of Toronto, Canada, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to production of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
According to court records, Pathmanathan admitted that over a seven-year period he targeted more than 100 minor females, ranging in age from 11 to 17, using popular social media platforms. He posed as an American teenage boy and persuaded victims to engage in sexually explicit acts during video chats, secretly recording the encounters without the victims’ knowledge or consent.
When victims attempted to stop communicating or refused further exploitation, Pathmanathan threatened to distribute the recorded videos to their families and friends, according to prosecutors.
“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. Duva said Pathmanathan used manipulation, threats, and fear to coerce juveniles while hiding behind a fabricated online persona from another country.
Pathmanathan was arrested on Dec. 3, 2025, after being temporarily surrendered to U.S. authorities, and has remained incarcerated pending trial. He previously pleaded guilty to similar offenses in Canada on Oct. 27, 2022, and was sentenced there to 12 years in prison.
Under the U.S. plea agreement, Pathmanathan faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, with a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years. He will also be required to pay restitution of no less than $3,000 per victim, in addition to potential fines and a term of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for May 27.
The case was investigated 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 temporary surrender from Canada. The prosecution is being handled by the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse and to identify and rescue victims.
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