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Monongahela man accused of holding woman hostage

By Jon Andreassi newsroom@heraldstandard.Com 2 min read
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Police arrested a Monongahela man Sunday night after a woman texted 911 claiming that he had held her hostage for a year.

Washington County 911 center received the text messages about 9:45 p.m. The woman said she was 18 and was being held by her abusive boyfriend at 717 W. Main St. She also told dispatchers he was asleep at the time.

Monongahela police found Nikolaus James Breland, 32, at that address and took him into custody. According to the criminal complaint, the woman also came out of the house and was visibly shaken.

When police entered Breland’s home, they discovered a mattress on the floor. Beside the bed were handcuffs connected to a nearby wall. There were also multiple bags of food and plastic water bottles on the floor around the mattress.

The woman told police that she met Breland about a year ago on a dating app while she was living in New Jersey. She claimed they had been living in hotels, and Breland would ask her to have sex with other people. She also said that Breland had sexually assaulted her, court documents state.

According to the complaint, the woman told investigators that when she told Breland she wanted to go back home, he would physically assault her and hold a knife to her neck.

Breland faces charges of promoting prostitution, sexual assault, false imprisonment, and misdemeanors of terroristic threats and simple assault.

District Judge Louis McQuillan sent Breland to the Washington County jail on $50,000 bond. He is due to appear for a preliminary hearing at 10 a.m. Dec. 7.

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