Russell O'Shea

CRANBERRY TWP — A convicted sex offender was arrested this week and is accused of harassing a 19-year-old woman and violating his registration requirements.

Russell M. O’Shea, 47, of Spirit Song Drive, Forward Township, Wednesday night was arraigned on felony failure to comply with registration requirements, felony criminal use of a communication facility and harassment charges.

In the criminal complaint, Cranberry Township police say that O’Shea had a relationship with the victim that started in the summer of 2015, when she was 18, and ended in October 2016.

After the relationship ended, he allegedly started verbally threatening to distribute nude images of her to friends and relatives unless she continued seeing him. He also allegedly made these threats via text message and Facebook message.

The victim, who lives in Cranberry Township, reported the alleged harassment to a Seneca Valley High School school resource officer in November who called the township police.

O’Shea in 2005 was convicted of indecent assault against a person of less than 13 years old that was filed by Zelienople police in 2003. Under Megan’s Law, he must register all cell phone numbers, aliases and Internet profiles.

While looking at the victim’s cell phone, police allegedly discovered that he was using Facebook under another name, was using two cell phone numbers and was using mobile messaging application Snapchat and Gmail. None of these accounts were registered with police, which qualifies as a failure to comply with his registration requirements.

He has two prior convictions for failure to comply with Megan’s Law requirements.

O’Shea was placed in Butler County Prison on $25,000 bail and a preliminary hearing is scheduled Jan. 13.