Edmonton man accused of luring, assaulting youths

Heman Palani, seen in this undated photo, was charged in April 2023 with several sexual offences against minors. (Source: ALERT)

An Edmonton man has been charged with child sexual abuse offences.

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Heman Palani is accused of luring two Edmonton youths, one of which he is also accused of sexually assaulting. Both are receiving support from the Zebra Child and Youth Advocacy Centre.

Palani was arrested on April 23.

He faces three counts of luring a child, two counts each of sexual assault and making child pornography, and one count each of sexual interference and making sexually explicit material available to a child.

He was released under 24-hour house arrest and is due in court next month.

Investigators say Palani targeted girls between the ages of 13 and 16 via social media under the aliases “hermesthefox,” ‘FOCKXINDAHENHOUSE," “Alen Wake,” “Hemi,” and “Zane.”

They believe there could be other victims.