- By Shibra Siddiqui
- Thu, 03 Apr 2025 03:58 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
An Indian national living in Edmond, Oklahoma, has been sentenced to 35 years in jail for sexually exploiting children through a social media app. 31-year-old Indian national Sai Kumar Kurremula, who arrived in Oklahoma on an immigrant visa, has been sentenced to serve 420 months in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of three children and transportation of child pornography, US Attorney Robert Troester said in a statement.
The accused posed as a teenage boy to take children into his confidence and extorted them with child pornography when they refused his requests.
US District Judge Charles Goodwin handed down a severe sentence last week, ordering Kurremula to serve 35 years (420 months) in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Notably, ‘lifetime of supervised release’ is a court-ordered condition that requires an individual to be monitored and supervised by a probation officer or other authorities for the rest of their life, after completing their prison sentence.
Pronouncing the judgement, Goodwin noted that Kurremula’s offence is among the most serious offences as he had targeted a vulnerable section of society. The court further observed that the trauma inflicted by the accused on children will haunt them for life, preventing them from leading a normal life.
A year-long investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has culminated in the conviction of Kurremula, who was found guilty of sexually exploiting at least 19 minors and transporting child pornography.
According to court documents, the FBI launched an investigation in October 2023 into a social media messaging app account linked to the sexual exploitation of minor girls. The probe led authorities to Kurremula, who was charged in April last year with multiple counts of child exploitation and pornography-related offences.
It was alleged that Kurremula, posing as a 13 to 15-year-old boy, used the social media platform to gain the trust of his victims. When they refused his requests, he resorted to manipulation, threats, and extortion to coerce them into producing more explicit content.
Kurremula admitted to exploiting three minors and exporting child pornography images. The offender admitted that he had threatened a minor that he would drive to her place and show her explicit images to her parents if she did not produce the demanded content for him. He threatened another victim that he would come to her home and shoot her family, and threatened a third young individual that he would publicly post sexually explicit images and videos of her.
“The appalling exploitation, manipulation, and coercion of multiple children by this defendant justly warranted the 35-year sentence imposed by the Court," Troester said. “This case serves as a clear warning to others that the strongest of penalties await those who exploit and victimize our children." FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Doug Goodwater said Kurremula manipulated children into sending him explicit images for his perverse gratification. “These disgusting actions robbed the victims of their innocence and caused unthinkable harm," Goodwater said.
