Indian national sentenced to 35 years in US prison after pleading guilty to sexually exploiting minors, child pornography

Sai Kumar Kurremula, an Indian-national living in Oklahoma's Edmond on an immigrant visa, was sentenced to 35 years in prison after he had pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting several children through a social media application.

On the platform, the 31-year-old accused often used to pose as a teenage person to gain trust of his victims. Later on, he exhorted them with child pornography and even threatened those who did not fulfill his demands, PTI reported.

Verdict in Sai Kumar Kurremula's case

In an official statement, US Attorney Robert Troester said that Kurremula will have to serve 420 months in federal prison, which will be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. The order was issued by US District Judge Charles Goodwin during a hearing last week.


Last year, Troester had said in June that Kurremula pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting three children as well as transportation of child pornography.

During the sentence hearing, the judge said that such cases involve vulnerable victims and are considered among the most serious offences by the society.

The trauma that has been inflicted by Kurremula on the minor victims will go on to echo throughout not just their lives, but even affect their families too.

Kurremula's lengthy sentencing in jail reflects that trauma, Goodwin added.

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How did Sai Kumar Kurremula get caught?

According to a June 2024 release by the US Attorney's Office, Western District of Oklahoma, the accused was charged by Information for sexually exploiting children along with transportation of child pornography.

The case stems from an October 2023 investigation by the FBI into a Snapchat account that involved a user accused of sexually exploiting minor girls, as per the affidavit filed in support of a criminal complaint.

US federal authorities were able to trace Kurremula through the Internet Protocol address that he had allegedly used to create the account on the social media platform.

According to PTI, public documents as well as evidence recovered have alleged that the accused sexually exploited at least 19 minors through Snapchat.

To target the victims, Kurremula used to pose as a 13-15 years old boy and gain their trust.

Those victims who refused his requests were then manipulated and threatened by him for making more child pornography.

In one specific case, he even admitted to threatening a minor about reaching her residence to show her sexually explicit images to her parents.

He had even threatened another victim that he would come to her residence and shoot her family.

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Troester said that the "appalling exploitation, manipulation, and coercion of multiple children by this defendant justly warranted the 35-year sentence imposed by the Court”.

FAQs

1. When did Sai Kumar Kurremula plead guilty?
He admitted to sexually exploiting three minor victims in June 2020.

2. Where does Sai Kumar Kurremula reside in the US?
He was staying in Edmond, Oklahoma on an immigrant visa.