Cheswick man charged with sexual abuse of a minor extradited from Ohio

About two weeks after filing their initial criminal complaint, Allegheny County Police have custody of Jeremiah Segan, 42, who is charged with statutory sexual assault and numerous other sex crimes in connection with the alleged yearslong sexual abuse of a minor.

According to police spokesman Jim Madalinsky, the longtime resident of Cheswick was arrested on June 6 in Westlake, Ohio, near Cleveland, on a Pennsylvania warrant. He was extradited to Allegheny County on Thursday, Madalinksy said.

Police began an investigation after a teenager disclosed the alleged abuse to their mother’s “paramour,” according to an affidavit filed by police.

In subsequent interviews, the teenager said Segan had begun the abuse when the teen was 10 years old, often forcing the child to perform sex acts with him, according to the complaint.

According to police, the abuse continued for years until Segan moved from Cheswick in February. The incidents took place while the child’s mother was at work, according to the complaint.

Segan told the child not inform the mother of the alleged abuse, the complaint states.

The complaint also alleges Segan would become physical with the child by smacking, punching and pushing. The teen said Segan also had physically abused the teen’s siblings for years, according to the complaint.

In 2007, Segan was sentenced to three years in a Florida state prison for burglary with a firearm. Prior to that, he had served nearly a year in a Lake County, Fla., jail for several forged checks.

On Thursday, he was denied bail as a danger to the victim and potential flight risk, according to court records. He is being held in the Allegheny County Jail.

Segan’s preliminary hearing is set for June 23.