Police: Shaler man charged after trying to arrange trysts with boys in library restroom

An 18-year-old Shaler man is facing felony charges after police allege he placed an online ad seeking boys to have sex with at the Shaler North Hills Library restroom.

Shaler police and FBI agents arrested Nicholas J. Cukanow on Thursday at Kiwanis Park, near the Shaler library.

He was expecting an introductory meeting with a 12-year-old boy who had replied to his online ad, according to a criminal complaint filed against him. Instead, Cukanow had been communicating with an undercover agent working for the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The investigation into Cukanow started June 13 when someone at the Shaler North Hills Library called police to report a person posting online ads looking for men of any age to have sex with, according to the complaint.

An undercover agent replied to the ad posing as a 12-year-old boy. A man later identified as Cukanow responded, police said.

The two exchanged messages and decided on an initial meeting Thursday at the park. Cukanow was arrested when he arrived. After his arrest, police found on him a cellphone with a number that matched the number involved in the conversations with the agent, according to the complaint.

Cukanow is charged with unlawful contact with a minor, four counts of attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and criminal use of a cellphone.

He was released after posting $50,000 bail. No attorney was listed for Cukanow in court documents.