A Toronto man has been sentenced to 33 years in prison in the United States after American prosecutors said he sexually exploited more than 140 children through social media over several years.
According to CBC News, 40 year old Ramanan Pathmanathan was sentenced in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty earlier this year to production of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor. Prosecutors said the case involved more than 145 victims, including children as young as six.
U.S. officials said Pathmanathan used platforms including Instagram and Facebook to contact minors while pretending to be a teenage boy from New Jersey. Investigators said he carried out the scheme for about seven years and used threats to pressure victims into continuing communication with him.
Prosecutors said Pathmanathan recorded victims during online video chats and saved the files to his computer. When some children tried to stop responding or blocked him, he threatened to share images with their friends or family.
The investigation began after the mother of one victim contacted local police. Authorities later traced an IP address to a home in Canada, where Pathmanathan was living with his family. Canadian authorities searched the home in March 2021.
Pathmanathan had already been sentenced in Canada in 2022 to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to similar crimes. The new 33 year sentence in the United States will be served consecutively, meaning it will begin after his Canadian sentence is completed.
The U.S. judge also ordered Pathmanathan to serve 10 years of supervised release after prison. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
American prosecutors had asked for a 40 year sentence, saying the scale and severity of the crimes required a strong punishment. The case has renewed concern about online child exploitation and the growing use of social media platforms by predators to target minors.
