Edmonton man accused of luring 4 more teen girls on social media, police say

An Edmonton man, arrested earlier this year in relation to sexual offences against two minors, is now accused of luring six total underage girls via social media, police said.

Heman Palani, 36, was arrested in April after allegedly luring and sexually assaulting two Edmonton girls. But on Thursday, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) said investigators identified four more teenaged girls after analyzing Palani's seized devices.

Palani previously faced nine charges. Police said Thursday that 17 more charges have been laid against him, bringing the total to 26.

According to ALERT, the latest charges against Palani include:

• four counts of child luring;

• four counts of obtaining sexual services from a person under 18;

• three counts each of possession of child sexual abuse and exploitation material;

• three counts of making child sexual abuse and exploitation material;

• two counts of failing to report to probation;

• and one count of sexual assault.

His initial charges included two counts each of sexual assault and making child pornography, and three counts of luring a child.

Investigators are continuing to speak with and identify potential victims and witnesses, police said.

ALERT previously said investigators believed Palani used several aliases to target girls in the Edmonton area, aged 13 to 16, through social media before meeting them in person.

On Thursday, police said the four new survivors ranged from 14 to 17 years old.

According to police, aliases Palani used include itsz-ariel, lookn4sugarbabe, rayaplz5minutes, sugaring4ababy, 21RaysofSun, fennecfox7830, hermesthefox and fockxindahenhouse. He also went by Zane and Hemi.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Edmonton Police Service.

Palani is in custody, awaiting his next scheduled court appearance on Friday, police said.