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Police say a Chandler man has been arrested for the second time in connection with an online “sextortion” scheme. 

Chandler police said they arrested 26-year-old Devon Raj Sharma on Sept. 18 in connection with the ongoing online sexual exploitation investigation.

Chandler police interviewed three victims, but believe more were targeted by Sharma in the Phoenix area. 

The three victims reported that Sharma offered them money in exchange for explicit content, as well as for engaging in sexual activity with him, police said. 

Additionally, Sharma offered one victim $1,000 if she found someone else to participate in the scheme, police said.

The Chandler Police Department first received information that a Chandler resident lured and sexually exploited a victim in July. They tracked the social media accounts used to contact the victim to a home in Chandler.

After completing a search warrant at Sharma’s home, police said he was arrested on suspicion of multiple felony charges.

A Police Department spokesperson said Sharma pretended to be a woman on social media sites to target both underage and adult women. Sharma is accused of using the guise of a modeling agency to lure the women he contacted online to send him exploitative pictures and videos in exchange for payment.

He would then threaten to release sexual images and videos of the victims to online porn websites if they didn’t send him more naked pictures, according to police. 

Court records show Sharma has a history of luring minors for sexual exploitation and that he pleaded guilty to similar crimes in 2017. He was on presentence release prior to his arrest.

He was also previously arrested in 2012, 2013 and 2017 and took plea deals on a number of charges, including child molestation, sexual exploitation and sexual extortion. 

Police are asking for anyone else who may have been targeted by Sharma to contact Sgt. Tom Lovejoy at 480-782-4402.

Reach breaking news reporter Brooke Newman at [email protected] or on Twitter @brookerae17.

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