Grand jury indicts repeat sex offender & his girlfriend for using ruse of dying relative to coerce minor victim into creating child pornography

DAYTON, Ohio – A 35-year-old repeat sex offender and his girlfriend have been charged federally with crimes related to coercing a minor female into producing child pornography. It is alleged the defendants used a ruse to trick the victim into believing that one defendant’s mother was dying and, to pay for life-saving surgery, the victim needed to send sexually explicit pictures and videos of herself to a third party over the internet.

John Brickhouse, 35, and Nina Darling, 26, both of Junction City, Ohio, are charged in a 19-count superseding indictment. The case was unsealed today.

According to court documents, the couple conspired for approximately seven months to coerce a minor girl, whom Brickhouse had met online, into producing and sending child pornography.

It is alleged that Brickhouse and Darling told the victim that Brickhouse’s mother had two weeks left to live, but that a third party had agreed to pay for life-saving surgery if the victim created and sent sexually explicit images and videos of herself in exchange.

The third party – “Michael Jones” – was in actuality a fictitious persona created by Brickhouse and Darling. It is alleged that Darling, at Brickhouse’s request, posed as “Michael Jones” in order to convince the victim that Brickhouse’s mother’s life could be saved if only the victim created and sent child pornography. Darling also allegedly posed as Brickhouse’s dying mother and Brickhouse’s aunt as part of this deception.

The victim, believing that she was acting to save Brickhouse’s mother’s life, created and sent the child pornography as requested. Brickhouse and Darling allegedly obtained and then distributed the child pornography to others, including to registered sex offenders.

In a separate scheme, Brickhouse allegedly coerced a different minor victim into producing child pornography.

Brickhouse is a registered sex offender whose most recent conviction was in 2015 for sexually assaulting a child. His multiple sexual offenses against children date back to 2009 and involve victims as young as 3 years old. Brickhouse committed many of the alleged crimes while he was in custody for his prior sexual offenses against minors.

If convicted as charged, Brickhouse faces 25 years up to life in prison and Darling faces between five and 30 years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division and the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys Christina Mahy and Kelly K. Rossi are representing the United States in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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