This undated photo provided by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Cincinnati shows Brian Rini. A day of false hope has given way to questions about why Rini would claim to be an Illinois boy who disappeared eight years ago. The FBI declared Rini’s story a hoax Thursday, April 4, 2019, one day after he identified himself to authorities as Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in 2011 at age 6. (Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
CINCINNATI (AP) — A federal judge has set a June 24 trial date for the 23-year-old man charged with impersonating a long-missing child.
U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett in Cincinnati scheduled pretrial conferences May 14 and June 13 in the case of Brian Michael Rini (REE’-nee) of Medina (meh-DYE’-nuh), Ohio.
Rini pleaded not guilty Friday to two counts of lying to federal agents and one of aggravated identity theft. The false statements charges carry possible sentences of up to eight years in prison and the ID theft would mean at least two years with conviction. Rini is being held without bond.
Police in Newport, Kentucky, say Rini claimed April 3 to be Timmothy Pitzen, who would now be 14, and that he escaped captors who sexually abused him. The Aurora, Illinois, boy disappeared in 2011.
© Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
