Introduction
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Three men from the Detroit metro area appeared in federal court Tuesday on child pornography charges.
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Two of the men lived in the same house in Detroit and the third worked as a doctor in Farmington Hills.
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Seized mobile phone evidence showed the men exchanged messages about obtaining illegal photos and videos.
(Fox 2) – A disturbing child pornography case has emerged in Detroit federal court after three men were arrested and charged with possessing the footage.
The defendants include a doctor, an attorney and a psychotherapist who live in Farmington Hills and Detroit, respectively.
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An FBI sting operation in Toledo ended with an arrest in a horrific case involving a man from metro Detroit who was in possession of hundreds of images and videos containing child pornography.
Two of the men appeared in court on Tuesday but were refused bail.
Joshua Ronnebaum, 45, and Brian Tacon, 51, who lived in the same house in Detroit’s Palmer Woods, exchanged messages claiming they had or were looking for the videos and photos, according to the federal complaint.
In one case, Tacon told an undercover agent about finding a child and molesting him, then asked him if he had more videos to share.
Ronnebaum’s cellphone, confiscated during the assassination, showed encrypted messages about the children he invited to his home while he was working as an English teacher in Japan.
There are over 155 images and videos on this phone.
Brian Tacon, 51, and Joshua Ronnebaum, 45, were both charged in federal court.
Dig deeper
The third defendant was identified as Lincoln Erickson.
The Farmington Hills doctor is currently on probation for a domestic violence incident that occurred in 2024. Evidence seized from his phone showed he discussed plans to travel to Thailand and abuse children.
Lincoln Erickson of Farmington Hills.
what’s next
More charges may be brought by a grand jury.
The charge of possession of child pornography carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison, regardless of the defendant’s background.
source
This article cites a federal complaint.
