Markham man posed as teen boy online to lure and sexually extort minors: police

Sugin Mohanathas is charged with child sexual offences. (Peel Regional Police)

A 24-year-old Markham man has been charged with luring minors by allegedly posing as an underage boy on social media to obtain explicit images.

Peel Regional Police said the investigation began in December 2025 and found that the suspect operated multiple social media accounts, including Snapchat and Instagram.

After obtaining the images, he allegedly would use them to extort the victims for sexual purposes.

In a news release on Wednesday, the suspect was identified as Sugin Mohanathas. He used the alias “Keshawn” during his online chats, police said.

They noted that his Snapchat username was “nicovalentino23” while on Instagram, he had the username “Forgiveme1236.”

Mohanathas has been charged with luring a child under 18, luring a child under 16, making sexually explicit material available to a person under 16, extortion and possession of child sexual abuse and exploitation material.

“Investigators believe there may be additional victims and are encouraging anyone who believes they may be a victim to come forward as the investigation is ongoing,” police said.