SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A St. Augustine High School teacher charged by federal prosecutors with distributing child sexual abuse material made his initial court appearance Friday.
Ryan Bennett Segura was arrested earlier this week on allegations that he exchanged sexually explicit videos featuring minors with another person last year.
Segura, who is charged with distribution of images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, remains in custody.
During Friday afternoon's brief court appearance, another hearing was set for next Tuesday to revisit his custodial status. A prosecutor said in court that the government would move to keep Segura in custody based on him presenting a danger to the community, but did not elaborate further.
According to a probable cause statement filed in federal court, the investigation into Segura began with the arrest of another man in Denver last fall.
After reviewing the Denver man's electronic devices, investigators discovered he had been communicating with Segura and exchanging videos with him, according to the statement.
During one conversation between the men, the Denver man asked Segura, "Whatre you into."
Segura replied, "Yng," which an FBI special agent who authored the statement said means "young."
Segura asked the Denver man the same question and he replied, "Same no limits."
The probable cause statement alleges that months of investigation led to Segura's identification as the user communicating with the Denver man.
"This connection was made after investigators were able to link a phone number used by Segura to the social media account," the statement reads.
Law enforcement agents later spoke with Segura, who "admitted he was the user of the social media account that distributed and received child sexual abuse material with the Denver subject," according to the statement, which continued, "He further admitted that he views this type of material every couple of months but claims he stopped doing so in approximately March 2025."
Segura's LinkedIn page indicates he is a religion teacher and head track and field coach at St. Augustine and has worked at the school since mid- 2021. Previously, he worked as a middle school teacher for the Diocese of San Diego in Vista, the page reads.
A statement issued earlier this week from the office of St. Augustine's President Ed Hearn reads, "We are deeply concerned about the arrest of Ryan Segura and have placed him on administrative leave pending an investigation. We are cooperating with the FBI. At this point, we have been told by law enforcement that they do not believe that any Saintsmen were affected. Nonetheless, we will be conducting our own investigation. We will share more information as it becomes available, as we continue to reflect and pray for everyone that is involved in this situation."
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