A 40-year-old Canadian national has pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to sexually exploiting more than 100 children through an elaborate online deception scheme spanning seven years.
Ramanan Pathmanathan of Toronto admitted to production of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was arrested on December 3, 2025, following his temporary surrender to U.S. authorities, where he has remained in custody.
According to the plea agreement, Pathmanathan created a fake persona posing as an American teenage boy on popular social media platforms. He used this identity to target girls between the ages of 11 and 17 across the United States. During video chats, he manipulated and coerced victims into performing sexually explicit acts while secretly recording them. When victims refused further contact, he threatened to distribute the recordings to their families and friends.
Aliases Ramanan Pathmanathan went by:
- Brett Barr
- _.brett_forever_12345._
- .098
- _.mlg_gamer_.321
- mlgg.ggamer ._
- bretss.spam .098
- _____bretts__spam_
- _brett_gamer_
- _gamer_brett_spam
- _spam_brett_
- __.gamer_.321
- brettspamz098
- brett_spam_
- .b.098_
- _spam_account_brett_
- jbrettspam098
- _Aye_its_brett
- its_brett_b
- brettjosh_0987
Pathmanathan had already pleaded guilty to similar offenses in Canada in October 2022 and received a 12-year sentence under Canadian law.
He now faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years and up to life in U.S. federal prison, along with fines, supervised release, and restitution of at least $3,000 per victim. Sentencing is scheduled for May 27.
