SURPRISE, AZ (AZFamily) — A Phoenix man is in custody after West Valley police say he provided drugs and alcohol to minors and sexually assaulted at least one.
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Surprise Police arrested Sameer Mardanzai, 28, on Wednesday after he was identified as a suspect during an investigation into alleged sexual offenses involving a teenage girl.
The investigation began in May 2025 when a father reported to Surprise Police that his 15-year-old daughter was involved in a sexual relationship with a man she met through social media. The father told police he found sexually explicit texts and Instagram messages on a phone.
When the teen spoke with detectives, she reported meeting Mardanzai four months earlier at a party he promoted on social media, and the relationship escalated to sexual conduct.
Court documents show Mardanzai ran an Instagram account called “@azhousepartys” that he used to promote the parties.
The girl reportedly told detectives that Mardanzai knew her age, but they had sexual encounters twice. She also accused Mardanzai of giving her a sexually transmitted disease.
Detectives were able to retrieve the Instagram account’s data from parent company Meta that reportedly included sexual messages and videos sent between the account and the teen’s account.
Mardanzai was arrested in Scottsdale in February for an unrelated drug crime, and Surprise Police seized his phone due to it being suspected of containing sexual videos of Mardanzai and the girl.
After his Scottsdale arrest, Mardanzai was released from jail on Aug. 16, documents show. Surprise Police arrested him three days later.
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In an interview with detectives, Mardanzai reportedly said he did not run the Instagram account. Investigators said Mardanzai is known to promote parties and provide underage people with drugs and alcohol, but he denied being a party promoter in his interview.
Documents show Mardanzai also denied knowing the victim. When police told him of the videos they found, he reportedly replied “that’s what it is, man,” and told officers to arrest him while denying having sexual relations with minors.
Detectives found that Mardanzai has been investigated for similar sexual crimes involving minors in Phoenix, Glendale and Gilbert.
Mardanzai is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of sexual conduct with a minor. He’s being held on a $500,000 bond.
This is still an active investigation, and police believe there are additional victims in related cases outside of Surprise.
Anyone who believes they may have been a victim or has information that can help investigators is asked to contact their local law enforcement or Surprise Police by calling 623-222-TIPS (8477) or emailing [email protected].
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