Convicted child sex offender who escaped Pittsburgh halfway house caught in Spring Hill, officials say

A convicted child sex offender from Fayette County who escaped from a Downtown Pittsburgh halfway house three weeks ago was arrested this week by sheriff’s deputies at a North Side apartment, officials said.

Tyree Lamar Hill — who also goes by Tyreek and has ties to Fayette City, Pittsburgh and McKeesport — is required to register as a sex offender for life. Authorities found him in an apartment in the 2100 block of Rhine Street in Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill neighborhood, less than a half-mile from multiple playgrounds and elementary schools, according to officials and court records.

When deputies tried to contact those inside the residence, Hill surrendered and was taken into custody shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday, according to Lt. Jack Kearney with the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office.

Hill was charged with failing to properly register as a sex offender and escape, along with probation violations. Hill was booked at Allegheny County Jail and arraigned Wednesday, court records show. He was released on his own recognizance until his preliminary hearing, which a judge set for Nov. 29 in Pittsburgh Municipal Court.

Hill had been wanted for arrest since Oct. 18, when he fled the Renewal Center Inc., the county’s transitional housing provider for recently released and paroled prisoners.

In addition to not being allowed to leave Renewal Center without permission, Hill is required to register as a lifetime offender in Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law sex offender online registry for the public at Tier 3, the highest level reserved for the most serious and egregious offenders, stemming from prior child sex assault convictions.

In connection to the sexual abuse of a 10-year-old victim, Hill was charged in December 2015 on three counts of indecent assault of a child under 13, corruption of minors and harassment. He pleaded guilty to the charges in 2016 and 2017, records show. Hill also had been charged and convicted of indecent assault of a child under 13 and corruption of minors related to an incident in May 2012.

In May 2018, an Allegheny County Common Pleas judge sentenced Hill to 343 days behind bars to be followed by five years of probation and the condition that Hill only be released to justice-related services, have no contact with the victim and submit to random drug testing.

In the past five years, Hill has been charged with failing to update his address and photo on the Megan’s Law website on at least three separate occasions, records show.