Toronto man pleads guilty to sexually exploiting more than 100 children in the U.S.

The U.S. Justice Department says 40-year-old Ramanan Pathmanathan pleaded guilty to the production of child pornography and to coercion and enticement of a minor. (Police handout/AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

A Toronto man has pleaded guilty in the United States to sexually exploiting more than 100 children on social media, after previously being sentenced for similar crimes in Canada.

In a release on Friday, the U.S. Justice Department said 40-year-old Ramanan Pathmanathan pleaded guilty to the production of child pornography, and to coercion and enticement of a minor.

The department said Pathmanathan had been arrested on Dec. 3, 2025, after being temporarily surrendered to the U.S.

“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 U.S. Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“For years, while hiding in another country behind a fabricated online persona, he (Pathmanathan) used manipulation, threats, and fear to coerce unsuspecting juveniles into producing and engaging in sexually explicit acts, robbing them of their innocence.”

The U.S. Justice Department said the 40-year-old admitted under a plea agreement that he sexually exploited more than 100 girls by posing as an American teenage boy for seven years, up until he was arrested in Canada by Toronto police in 2021.

At the time, Toronto police had charged Pathmanathan with 93 offences, including 18 counts of child luring, nine counts of invitation to sexual touching, and 10 counts of making child pornography.

He pleaded guilty to those offences in 2022, according to the U.S. Justice Department, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison in the Canadian justice system.

Pathmanathan’s victims in the U.S. were located all over the country, and ranged in age from 11 to 17 years old, the department said.

They added that while video chatting with the victims, he would persuade and coerce them to engage in sexually explicit acts and, without their knowledge or consent, would screen record them while they did so.

“When the children refused to engage in further sexually explicit conduct, Pathmanathan then further exploited them by threatening to distribute the recorded videos to their families and friends,” the U.S. Justice Department said.

He is facing a maximum penalty of life in prison in the U.S., with a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison, in addition to fines and a period of supervised release for the charges in the U.S.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 27.

“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,“ Duva said.