Hearing set for man charged with posing as missing child

Hearing set for man charged with posing as missing child

A pretrial hearing is planned for a 24-year-old man charged with impersonating a long-missing child.

U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett in Cincinnati on Thursday will hear from attorneys on both sides, with a trial scheduled June 24 for Brian Michael Rini (REE’-nee) of Medina (meh-DYE’-nuh), Ohio.

Rini has pleaded not guilty 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 has been held without bond since April, when federal authorities confirmed his identity.

Police in Newport, Kentucky, say Rini had claimed to be Timmothy Pitzen, an Aurora, Illinois, boy who disappeared in 2011 at age 6.

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