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www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know Telugu Association Makes $10,000 Donation To Eye Foundation Of America Canadian Ramanan Pathmanathan Sentenced In D.C. To 33 Years In Sextortion Scheme That Targeted 145 Children In The U.S. T he North American Telugu Association, NAATS, announced May 31, 2026, it has made a sizable donation to the Eye Foundation of America. NAATS “has stood by the Eye Foundation of America, which has been providing continuous service to children for the past 50 years with the aim of preventing blindness,” the organization said in a press release. Recognizing that, the Association said it has made a huge donation of $10,000 as part of the establishment of a blindness-free society. The donation was made at a special service and cultural program held recently in New Jersey where NAATS President Srihari Mandadi and a group of NAATS leaders officially presented the amount of this donation in the form of a check to the Eye Foundation of America Board of Trustees ShyamMaddali. NAATS leaders Shekharam Kotha, Srinivas Guthikon- da, Sridhar Appasani, Prashant Pinnamaneni, Gangad- har Desu, Bapu Nuthi, Raj Allada, Hari Bungatavula, TP Rao, Bindu Yelamanchili, Shyam Nalam, Srinivas Bheemineni, Kiran Mandadi, Vamsi Koppuravuri and others participated in this program, the press release said. NAATS leaders said they appreciated the services being provided by the Eye Foundation of America. The organi- zation specially praised the founders of the Eye Founda- tion of America, V.K. Raju, President Lily V. Raju, Board of Trustees ShyamMaddali, Shekhar Vemparala, and Srinu Maddula. At the event, NAATS called on everyone to participate in the initiative “that fill the eyes of children with light, and to promote such free, non-profit medical services to reach all the poor with eye problems in India.” Towards that goal, a brand new campus in Rajahmun- dry, Andhra Pradesh, estimated to cost $20 million, was underway. Named Gautami Eye Institute, the building of the campus is led by Dr. V.K. Raju, to establish a new world-class school. “Through this campus, eye surgeries and treatments will be provided completely free of cost to poor patients coming from anywhere in the country. Apart from this, special training will be given to the best ophthalmologists (eye doctors) for future needs,” the press release said. R amanan Pathmanathan, 40, of Toronto, Canada, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 33 years in federal prison in connection with a prolific sextortion scheme that targeted more than 100 children across the United States, an- nounced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. Pathmanathan pleaded guilty on Jan. 30, 2026, before Chief Judge James E. Boasberg to one count of production of child pornography and one count of coercion and enticement of a minor. “This defendant spent years me- thodically hunting children online. He targeted more than 145 victims, some as young as six, and subjected them to hor- rors no child should ever experience,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “The United States will not allow international bor- ders 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.” In addition to the 396-month prison term, Chief Judge Boasberg ordered Pathmanathan to serve 10 years of supervised release and register as a sex offender. The prison term will run con- secutively to the 12-year sentence that Pathmanathan is serving in Canada. According to court documents, Pathmanathan used multiple social media accounts, primarily Instagram and Facebook Messenger, to establish contact with at least 145 young girls and boys. Between at least March 2014 up until the day of his arrest on March 10, 2021, Pathmanathan posed as a teenage boy from New Jersey. Pathmanathan demanded the minor victims engage in sexually explicit conduct while they participated in video chats with him. He directed them to expose their genitals, and to engage in sexual acts with dogs, siblings, and other relatives. In almost all the video chats with his minor victims, Pathmanathan sent the children images of adults en- gaged in sexual acts to show them how to do what he was requesting. Pathmanathan recorded his victims’ sexually explicit conduct and saved the files on his desktop computer. Some of the victims were as young as six years old. When the minor victims would decline to continue to engage in sexually explicit conduct or blocked Pathmana- than’s social media accounts, he threat- ened to send images to the children’s friends or family. On Oct. 27, 2022, Pathmanathan pleaded guilty to similar offenses in Canada, and was later sentenced to 12 years in prison. The Department of Justice is grate- ful to the Toronto Police Service and the Crown Operations Office, Ministry of Attorney General (Canada) for their invaluable assistance. This case was investigated by the FBI Houston Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force and the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division secured the temporary surrender of Pathmana- than from Canada. The matter was prosecuted by As- sistant U.S. Attorney Karen Shinskie for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Kaylynn Foulon of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initia- tive designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, appre- hend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Child- hood, please visit www.projectsafechild- hood.gov. By a StaffWriter Justice Department Press Release PHOTO:NAATS Members of the North American Association of Telugus and the Eye Foundation of America met at a recent event where NAATS donated $10,000. 9 CITY VIEWS June 5, 2026