Toronto Sextortion Predator Gets 33 Years in U.S. Prison
Toronto man Ramanan Pathmanathan was sentenced to 33 years in U.S. prison for targeting more than 145 children online.
A Canadian man who carried out a years-long online sextortion scheme targeting children across the United States has been sentenced to 33 years in federal prison.
Ramanan Pathmanathan, 40, of Toronto, Canada, received the sentence in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., after pleading guilty in January 2026 to one count of production of child pornography and one count of coercion and enticement of a minor.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Pathmanathan targeted at least 145 children between March 2014 and his arrest on March 10, 2021. Investigators said he used multiple social media accounts, primarily on Instagram and Facebook Messenger, while posing as a teenage boy from New Jersey to gain the trust of victims.
Court documents stated that Pathmanathan coerced children into participating in sexually explicit video chats, which he recorded and stored on his computer. Authorities said some victims were as young as six years old.
Prosecutors said Pathmanathan threatened victims when they attempted to stop communicating with him or blocked his social media accounts, including threats to share explicit material with friends and family members.
Chief Judge James E. Boasberg sentenced Pathmanathan to 396 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender. The sentence will run consecutively to a separate 12-year prison sentence already imposed in Canada for similar offences.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said the defendant spent years systematically targeting children online and praised cooperation between U.S. and Canadian authorities in bringing the case to court.
The investigation was led by the FBI Houston Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force and the Texas Department of Public Safety, with assistance from the Toronto Police Service and Canadian justice officials.
The case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative, which focuses on combating online child exploitation and abuse.
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