John Brickhouse, 35, and Nina Darling, 26, both of Junction City — a village in Perry County just over 40 miles southwest of Columbus — are charged in a 19-count superseding indictment. The case was unsealed Tuesday.
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
The couple conspired for approximately seven months to coerce the girl, who Brickhouse met online, into producing and sending child pornography, according to court documents.
It is alleged that Brickhouse and Darling told the girl 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 girl created and sent sexually explicit images and videos of herself in exchange.
The third party — “Michael Jones” — was 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 girl 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 girl, 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 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. 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. Darling faces between five and 30 years in prison. They are both held in the Montgomery County Jail.
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