An Ohio man accused of impersonating Timmothy Pitzen, a boy who disappeared under tragic circumstances in 2011, could face federal charges following an overnight stay at a county jail.
Brian Michael Rini, 23, was booked into the Hamilton County Jail at 10:18pm last night, on a detainer issued by the FBI.
According to the document, Rini is set to be picked up from the jail by the bureau at 10:30am, where local police say he could face federal charges for allegedly attempting to impersonate missing Timmothy on Wednesday.
It’s not yet clear what the charges may include, but the FBI have launched a criminal investigation into Rini's conduct as of Friday morning.
On April 3, the reported Pitzen impersonator is said to have approached a woman on a residential street in Kentucky and claimed he was Timmothy. He told the woman he had just escaped from two kidnappers who had been holding him captive for nearly eight years.
He was arrested at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital 24 hours later, after authorities conducted a DNA test and confirmed he was not the missing 14-year-old boy he’d claimed, but a 23-year-old man with an extensive rap sheet.
He could be arraigned in Federal court as early as Friday afternoon.
Brian Michael Rini, 23, was booked into the Hamilton County Jail at 10:18pm last night, where local police say he could face federal charges for allegedly attempting to impersonate missing Timmothy, on Wednesday
A day earlier, Rini is said to have approached a woman on a residential street in Kentucky and claimed he was Timmothy Pitzen and had just managed to flee two kidnappers who had been holding him captive for eight years (pictured: Rini in the street moments after claiming to be Timmothy)
Police said Brian Michael Rini (left) from Medina, Ohio, lied to investigators when he claimed to be missing Illinois boy Timmothy Pitzen (right). He could face federal charges, with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison
Local police have not yet revealed a motive for the believed impersonation, but lying about felony offences to the police can result in felony charges, which carry anything from probation up to ten years in jail.
July 2017: Rini pleaded guilty to 'disorderly conduct' and 'criminal trespass' after breaking into a home and causing $1,250 worth of damage after throwing an elaborate house party. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and released in March this year
December 2016: pleaded guilty plea/no contest to theft charges
April 2016: guilty plea/no contest to 'making false alarms about law enforcement'
December 2015: guilty plea/no contest after 'writing a series of bad checks'
November 2015: pleaded guilty/no contest to two counts of theft
June 2015: pleaded guilty/no contest after dialing 911 to falsely claim to police that his ex-girlfriend was going to commit suicide
April 2015: pleaded guilty/no contest to once count of 'passing bad checks' - fifth degree felony
October 2013: pleaded guilty/no contest to 'falsification'
Source: Fox 19
‘If you obstruct, tamper or impede an official investigation, which is exactly what he did, you have criminal liability for that, but the big one, federal,’ said Fox 19 legal analyst, Mike Allen. ‘You can’t lie to an FBI agent during the course of an investigation, that’s a felony.’
Allen believes Rini will face multi-jurisdictional charges in Ohio and Kentucky.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio have scheduled a press conference for 11:30am, where more details about the charges Rini potentially faces are expected to be shared.
The 23-year-old appears to have an extensive history of criminal behavior including charges for burglary, vandalism, using bad checks and giving fraudulent information to the police.
He'd only been released from an Ohio jail for the burglary a few weeks before making the false Timmothy claim.
According to an officer's dispatch report from Wednesday, Rini told police he was born on October 18, 2004, the same day as Timmothy, and also gave his correct middle name of James.
The report also said he claimed that he had managed to flee two tattooed, ‘body-builder type’ captors who had been holding him hostage in a Red Roof Inn, said to be in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Rini claimed that when he saw his chance to escape, he fled and 'kept running across a bridge' - the state line - and into Newport, Kentucky.
In Timmothy’s hometown of Aurora, Illinois, police Sgt. Bill Rowley said that over the years his department has received thousands of tips
