Ohio man, 23, who 'claimed to be missing Illinois boy Timmothy Pitzen' is indicted by grand jury and hit with more charges

  • Brian Michael Rini, 23, faces new charges - two counts of lying to federal agents and one count of aggravated identity theft
  • His arraignment is scheduled for Friday afternoon
  • On April 3 he was picked up by police after claiming to be missing Illinois boy Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared at the age of 6 in 2011
  • A DNA test proved that he was not, and was actually a convicted felon
  • He was formerly charged on a single count of making a false statement 
  • The false statement charge carries a sentence of eight years and identity theft carries a sentence of two years  

By Marlene Lenthang For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Published: | Updated:

Brian Michael Rini, 23, - who is accused to pretending to be missing Illinois boy Timmothy Pitzen - has been indicted on new charges: two counts of lying to federal agents and one count of aggravated identity theft

Brian Michael Rini, 23, - who is accused to pretending to be missing Illinois boy Timmothy Pitzen - has been indicted on new charges:  two counts of lying to federal agents and one count of aggravated identity theft

The Ohio man who claimed to be missing Illinois boy Timmothy Pitzen who disappeared in 2011, has been hit with new charges.   

A federal grand jury has indicted Brian Michael Rini, 23, on two counts of lying to federal agents and one count of aggravated identity theft.

The indictment was filed Thursday and carries a possible sentence of eight years in prison for making false statements and two years for identity theft.  

The Medina, Ohio man was arrested on a single false statement count on April 6 after he claimed to be Pitzen, who was just six when he vanished in 2011, but a DNA test proved he was not. 

Rini is currently being held without bond and has his arraignment scheduled for Friday. 

Rini was picked up by police on the morning of April 3 in Newport, Kentucky, claiming that he was Timmothy Pitzen, who hadn't been seen for eight years. 

Police said Brian Michael Rini, from Medina, Ohio, lied to investigators. He is pictured in a recent mugshot
Timmothy vanished on May 11 2011, after being taken out of school by his mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen. She committed suicide in a motel room soon after and left a note saying the boy was safe but would never be found

Police said Rini (left) from Medina, Ohio, lied to investigators when he claimed to be missing Illinois boy Timmothy Pitzen (right). He faces 18 years in prison if convicted on all charges

Rini pictured on April 3 moments before was picked up by police. He later allegedly told officers that he was missing Timmothy Pitzen and had been kidnapped by two men

Rini pictured on April 3 moments before he told police he was Pitzen and was kidnapped by two men

He claimed he had escaped two kidnappers who kept him captive and subjected him to years of sexual abuse.

He was treated and tested at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital and was found to be lying.  

Federal authorities had said they were skeptical, especially after he refused to be fingerprinted, but didn't want to miss a chance to possibly solve the Pitzen disappearance.  

Timmothy Pitzen (pictured with his parents) disappeared at the age of 6 in 2011. His mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen (right), pulled him out of kindergarten in Aurora, Illinois, and took him on a two-day road trip to the zoo and a water park, and then killed herself at a motel. The boy has not been seen since.

On April 3 he was picked up by police after claiming to be missing Illinois boy Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared at the age of 6 in 2011. But a DNA test proved he was not

Federal authorities say he has a lengthy criminal record and has twice before portrayed himself to be a juvenile sex trafficking victim

Federal authorities say he has a lengthy criminal record and has twice before portrayed himself to be a juvenile sex trafficking victim

What happened to Timmothy Pitzen? 

On the morning of May 11, 2011, James Pitzen dropped his son off at Greenman Elementary School in Aurora.

At 8:30am, Timmothy's mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen, appeared at the school telling educators that she needed to remove her son from class because of a 'family emergency'.

Later that day, James returned to the school to pick Timmothy up, but was told Amy withdrew him from class hours earlier.

For more than a day, he found no sign of Timmothy or Amy, until eventually she called James and his brother on May 12, telling them 'Timmothy is fine. Timmothy belongs to me. Timmothy and I will be fine. Timmothy is safe'.

The last CCTV images of Amy and Timmothy alive together were captured on May 12 as they checked out from the Kalahari Resort, in Wisconsin Dells.

The following day, Amy was spotted alone on CCTV 120 miles away in a supermarket near Rockford, having purchased a pen, paper and some envelopes. 

On May 14 she was found dead in her Rockford Inn motel room having committed suicide by slashing her wrists. 

 A note found next to her body said that Timmothy was safe, and in the care of others, but added: 'You'll never find him'.

Timmothy's identification card was found inside the room, but workers at the motel said Amy had checked-in alone.

Police say they've investigated several false leads since Timmothy's disappearance in 2011.

The last potential breakthrough came in 2014, when a woman said she saw a boy matching his description at her yard-sale. Police were never able to confirm the sighting.

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DNA testing revealed Rini's true identity and established he was a convicted felon who was released on probation in March from an Ohio prison. He had served more than a year on burglary and vandalism charges. 

When confronted with DNA results proving he wasn't Timmothy, Rini acknowledged his identity, saying he had watched a story about the missing boy on ABC's 20/20 and wanted to get away from his own family, the FBI said. 

Federal authorities said he has twice before portrayed himself to be a juvenile sex trafficking victim, as he allegedly did in this case.

A federal magistrate last week cited Rini's lack of a permanent address, past mental health issues and 'a lengthy criminal history' that goes back to age 13 as she ordered him held without bond.

In 2017, Rini was treated at an Ohio center for people with mental health or substance abuse problems, according to court papers.

Timmothy vanished after his mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen, pulled him out of kindergarten in Aurora, Illinois, nearly eight years ago, took him on a two-day road trip to the zoo and a water park, and then killed herself at a motel. 

She left a note saying that her son was safe with people who would love and care for him and added: 'You will never find him.' 

Timmothy Pitzen's family say they are heart-broken to find themselves back at square one in their search for Timmothy.

'It's devastating. It's like reliving that day all over again and Timmothy's father is devastated once again,' one of the boy's aunts, Kara Jacobs, said in a press conference, reported TODAY.  

 'I just hope this young man who claimed to be Tim realizes how much hurt he caused,' Linda, Timmothy's grandmother, said. 'And now everybody is hurting. And I just don't understand how somebody could be so sick to do this.'

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