Wainwright man sentenced to 16 years for sexually exploiting minors to produce, receive child pornography

FAIRBANKS, Alaska - A Wainwright man was sentenced today to over 16 years in prison for sexually exploiting multiple minor victims to produce and receive child pornography.

According to court documents, on Oct. 22, 2024, the North Slope Borough Police Department received a report from a 15-year-old minor victim about Robert Segevan, 32. The minor victim reported that Segevan requested sexually explicit pictures on Snapchat. Throughout the course of the investigation, four other minor victims came forward, ranging from 11 to 13 years old. The victims reported that anytime they attempted to block him, Segevan would create a new account and continue to ask for explicit pictures.

Law enforcement obtained search warrants for Segevan's accounts. The warrants revealed that between August and October 2024, Segevan contacted multiple females suspected to be minors asking for sexually explicit images. Law enforcement seized multiple devices and found 62 images and 21 videos that depicted child sexual abuse with some victims as young as five years old.

On July 30, 2026, Segevan was arrested after being charged by criminal complaint and was formally indicted by a federal grand jury roughly one month later. On March 6, 2026, Segevan pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child: attempted production of child pornography, one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and one count of receipt of child pornography.

At sentencing, the Court ordered Segevan to serve 15 years on supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence. In handing down the sentence, the Court emphasized the need to protect Segevan's community from his predatory behavior.

"Mr. Segevan persistently targeted minors known to him, going as far as creating new digital accounts when the minors blocked him over and over again for his sick conduct," said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska. "I want to commend the courageous victims who came forward to disclose Segevan's crimes and our law enforcement partners that ultimately stopped his perverse pattern of behavior. We must work together to protect Alaska's children."

"Segevan's child exploitation crimes against multiple young victims were deliberate, predatory, and have no place in our communities," said Special Agent in Charge Matthew Schlegel of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. "The FBI and our partners remain steadfast in our commitment to protect our most vulnerable, identify offenders, and secure justice for victims of these atrocious crimes."

The FBI Anchorage Field Office and North Slope Borough Police Department are investigating the case, with assistance from Anchorage Police Department as part of the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carly Vosacek and Ibad Jafri prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

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