A Canadian man has been sentenced to 33 years in U.S. prison after federal prosecutors said he carried out a years-long online exploitation scheme that targeted more than 100 children across the United States.
Ramanan Pathmanathan, 40, was sentenced Wednesday, May 27, after pleading guilty in January to one count of production of child pornography and one count of coercion and enticement of a minor, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Pathmanathan is already serving a 12-year prison sentence in Canada.
Federal authorities described the case as a massive online sextortion scheme involving more than 145 victims, some of them extremely young.
“This defendant spent years methodically hunting children online,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement. “He targeted more than 145 victims, some as young as six, and subjected them to horrors no child should ever experience.”
Pirro said the case also showed that international borders would not protect people who prey on children.
“The United States will not allow international borders to serve as a refuge for those who prey on children, and I am grateful to our Canadian partners for ensuring this predator faced justice on both sides of the border,” she said.
According to prosecutors, Pathmanathan posed online as a teenage boy named Brett from New Jersey. Authorities said he primarily used Instagram and Facebook Messenger to contact young girls and boys.
Once he made contact, prosecutors said he pressured children into doing sexually explicit acts on video calls and recorded the abuse.
Authorities said that when victims refused to continue or blocked his accounts, Pathmanathan threatened to send images to their friends or family.
The scheme allegedly lasted for seven years before Pathmanathan was arrested in March 2021.
According to a sentencing memorandum obtained by PEOPLE, the investigation began when the mother of one young victim contacted law enforcement. She reported that someone was repeatedly stalking her daughter online and forcing her into explicit livestreams.
Investigators traced the IP address to Pathmanathan, who was living with his parents and brother in Toronto.
Prosecutors said Pathmanathan denied having a sexual interest in children. However, according to the sentencing memorandum, he admitted using the Dark Web to access violent and graphic content.
His defense attorneys wrote in their own sentencing memorandum that Pathmanathan was originally from Sri Lanka and had dropped out of university in Canada to play poker full time. They said he was successful at first but later began losing money and became increasingly reckless with gambling.
“By the time he was 30 years old, Mr. Pathmanathan was living his life almost entirely online,” the defense memorandum stated. “He gambled, looked at pornography, played other online games, and just spent all his time isolated and alone.”
His attorneys said his online behavior eventually moved into “riskier and riskier” spaces.
In addition to the 33-year sentence, Pathmanathan was ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release and register as a sex offender, federal authorities said.
The case is a chilling reminder of the dangers children can face online and the importance of parents, guardians and caregivers watching for signs that a child may be targeted or threatened.
Anyone who suspects child abuse can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. The hotline is confidential, toll-free and available 24/7.
Of course Canada had to let this trash into the country and endanger children in both countries.