Indian national sentenced to 35 years in US for sexual exploitation of minors

A 31-year-old Indian national in the US has been given 35 years in prison for exploiting children through social media.

Sai Kumar Kurremula, residing in Edmond, Oklahoma on an immigrant visa, deceived children by pretending to be a teenager and subsequently blackmailed them with inappropriate content when they did not comply with his demands.

A press release by the US attorney office said US district judge Charles Goodwin imposed the 420-month federal prison term, for exploiting three minors and distributing child pornography. He also emphasised that these crimes rank among society's most severe due to the victims' vulnerability, and noted that Kurremula's actions caused lasting trauma to both victims and their families.

According to United States attorney Robert J. Troester, “The case serves as a clear warning to others that the strongest of penalties await those who exploit and victimise our children."

FBI Oklahoma City special agent in charge Doug Goodwater said, "This defendant exploited children by coercing them into sending explicit images for his own twisted gratification. His vile actions stole their innocence and caused unimaginable harm.”

FBI investigations began in October 2023 after discovering a social media account linked to the exploitation of underage girls. Authorities traced the account to Kurremula through its IP address. Evidence revealed he had exploited at least 19 minors via the messaging application.

In his guilty plea in June 2020, Kurremula acknowledged exploiting three minors and deliberately sharing inappropriate images. His threats included visiting one victim's home to show compromising images to her parents, threatening violence against another's family, and blackmailing a third with public exposure of explicit content.

Kurremula was charged with child exploitation and pornography distribution in April last year.