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Prominent men charged in disturbing child porn case
Three men, Joshua Ronnebaum, Jeremy Tacon, and Lincoln Erickson were all arrested and charged by federal prosecutors with possessing child pornography
(FOX 2) - A disturbing case of child pornography appeared in federal court in Detroit after three men were arrested and charged with possessing footage.
The defendants include a doctor, a lawyer, and a psychotherapist, who reside in Farmington Hills and Detroit respectively.
Big picture view:
An FBI sting in Toledo ended with arrests in a horrific case involving men from Metro Detroit possessing hundreds of images and videos containing child pornography.
Two of the men appeared in court on Tuesday and were denied bond.
According to federal complaints, Joshua Ronnebaum, 45, and Brian Tacon, 51, who live at the same home in Palmer Woods in Detroit, had exchanged messages alleging they had possessed or sought the video and photos.
In one case, Tacon spoke to an undercover agent about finding a child and molesting him, before asking if he had more videos to share.
Ronnebaum's phone was seized during the sting, which showed encrypted messages about inviting children to his home while he worked in Japan as an English teacher.
The phone had more than 155 images and videos on it.
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 domestic violence for an incident in 2024. Evidence seized on his phone indicated he discussed plans to travel to Thailand and abuse children.
Lincoln Erickson of Farmington Hills.
What's next:
A grand jury may hand up more charges.
A conviction of possessing child pornography comes with a mandatory minimum of five years in prison — regardless of the defendant's background.
The Source: Federal complaints were cited for this story.