Greensburg police arrest burglary suspect accused of raping, sexually assaulting girl
A 31-year-old Greensburg man held in the county jail since March 2020 for committing a string of daylight burglaries in Greensburg and Hempfield was arraigned Wednesday for allegedly raping and sexually assaulting a girl.
James E. Dickant Jr. is charged with sexual assault and rape and three counts each of child endangerment and corruption of minors filed by city police.
Detective Charles Irvin reported in court documents that the investigation began in June after police were notified of several complaints of child abuse involving the girl and Dickant were made through ChildLine, the state child’s abuse hotline.
The accuser told investigators the abuse began in 2014 and continued until Dickant’s arrest March 9, 2020, when he was jailed without bail after his arrest by city and state police for allegedly committing at least 20 daylight burglaries.
Most of the burglaries occurred in Greensburg’s historic Academy Hill area. Dickant was arrested after police canvassed pawn shops between Unity and Monroeville. Court records say he was identified by shop employees for selling many of the heirloom items that were reported stolen.
Dickant’s girlfriend, Roxanna Pearl Mays, 32, who is charged with committing some of the burglaries, also now is charged with child endangerment and corruption of minors in connection with the rape and sexual assault case.
Police have acquired an arrest warrant for Mays.
After Dickant would get money for selling the stolen items, a witness said, Dickant and Mays would often buy heroin, cocaine and marijuana and use it with the child in the room.
Irvin said the victim said she often saw Dickant “stick a needle in (Mays’) arm” to inject heroin and would hear fights “whether to call an ambulance or not because a visitor was overdosing.”
His trial date on the burglary complaints was continued in August but has not been rescheduled, according to online court dockets.
Dickant’s preliminary hearing on the new charges is scheduled Oct. 14.
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