After FBI investigators arrested Robert Segevan in Wainwright this July for child exploitation, they wanted to be sure there weren’t other victims.
The FBI's criminal complaint describes how Segevan, 31, used social media chats to badger teenage girls into sending him sexually explicit pictures of themselves. The victims were as young as 12, 13 and 15.
A federal grand jury in Alaska recently indicted Segevan on several child pornography charges, including attempted coercion and enticement of a minor.
Chloe Martin, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Alaska field office says, although this crime took place in one of the most isolated places in the nation, it is not beyond the FBI’s reach.
“No matter where a child lives,” she said, “they deserve safety, support and justice.”
Martin says sexual exploitation occurs in large cities and small communities alike, and it helps to end the abuse, when victims come forward.
“Victims may be eligible for certain services, potentially restitution and rights under federal or state law,” Martin said. “And of course, all identities of these victims will be kept confidential.”
The FBI says Robert Segevan used different names online, including Ethan Allen, “tukak,” robertsegavan20 and robertsegevan24. He is also believed to have ties to two other North Slope communities, Utqiaġvik and Kaktovik.
The FBI’s Anchorage field office and the North Slope Borough Police Department worked together on this case, which came to light last October, after a North Slope Borough police officer took a complaint from a 15-year-old girl. She told the officer Segevan had asked her to send him images of her breasts and private parts.
During the investigation, he learned that two 12-year-olds had also received similar messages and that a 13-year-old had sent Segevan nude photos of herself.
The Anchorage Police Department is also a partner in the investigation through the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
The FBI is asking anyone with information about Segevan’s alleged crimes to contact the Anchorage FBI field office or go online at tips.fbi.gov.
