Galaxy Market clerk charged in alleged indecent assault

-CRIME-

By Jamie Wiggan

A Stowe convenience store clerk has been charged by county police for allegedly assaulting a young female customer while on the job.

According to police reports, a Galaxy Market employee named Mohamed Segane touched a 22-year-old female customer’s crotch after he noticed a hole in her pants. He then pulled her body toward his using a garment stick and began grinding his hips against her. When the victim attempted to back away, Segane “touched her neck in a pinching manner” but did not restrict her breathing, the report states.

The alleged perpetrator was detained shortly after the Feb. 14 incident by a Stowe police officer and has since been charged with a single count of indecent assault following an investigation led by the Allegheny County Police Department. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 22 at Magistrate Bruce Boni’s office in McKees Rocks.

Segane appears to have no previous charges filed in Pennsylvania courts.

County police say the details relayed by the victim are closely corroborated by security camera footage from inside the store.

A man who identified himself as Segane declined to comment when approached inside the store on Feb. 23, a day after the charges were brought against him. Another man who identified himself over the phone as the store’s owner also declined to comment.

Galaxy Market on Broadway Avenue was previously the focus of a police investigation in October 2020. During that incident, a parent reportedly found sexual stimulant pills alongside the snack items her child purchased from the store. County police say they were never brought into an investigation initiated by Stowe’s police department at the time.

Stowe Police Chief Matt Preininger said the matter was referred to the FDA, adding, he “did not have a disposition on it,” at the time of reporting.