A former Detroit physician has been sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison after admitting to receiving child pornography and being linked to a wider child sexual abuse ring, federal authorities announced.
Lincoln Erickson, 32, was arrested by FBI agents on Dec. 10 after investigators found child sexual abuse material on his phone, including videos of minors engaged in sex acts and AI-generated pornography depicting nude children with adult men. He was sentenced to more than 100 months — over nine years — in federal prison and will be required to register as a sex offender.
Erickson worked as a medical resident at Detroit Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan before his arrest. He has been in federal custody since he was taken into custody.
Investigators say Erickson was part of a larger network of men trading child sexual abuse material and discussing plans to abuse children. According to court records, he admitted to federal agents that he once arranged to travel to another man’s home after trying to convince that man to let him bathe his children.
Messages Exchanged on Telegram
Erickson communicated with other members of the network through the messaging app Telegram, where he wrote messages including “I love being a pedo” and “Bro, I love other pedophiles. So hot,” according to court papers reported by ClickOn Detroit.
In messages to another man in the network, Joshua Ronnebaum, Erickson claimed he had sexually abused a boy and described a fantasy of having a child with another man that the group could sexually abuse and groom “from baby to adulthood,” court records state.
Wider Network of Arrests
Erickson’s case emerged from a broader investigation that began after a man identified in reporting as Tooman was arrested on March 29, 2025, after allegedly traveling to Toledo believing he would sexually abuse a 7-year-old girl and a 6-month-old infant. Authorities said Tooman had been communicating with an undercover FBI agent posing as a parent.
That arrest led investigators to a chain of text messages that resulted in the arrests of two more men, Jeremy Brian Tacon and Joshua Ronnebaum, and ultimately to the messages exchanged with Erickson via Telegram, according to a criminal complaint.
FBI Statement
Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, said the sentence reflects the consequences awaiting those who possess child sexual abuse material.
“Anyone who [possesses] child sexual abuse material should expect severe consequences, and today, this sexual predator begins paying the price for his actions with more than 100 months in federal prison,” Runyan said.
Runyan credited the FBI Detroit Crimes Against Children Squad and task force officers from the Detroit Police Department for their work on the case.
“I am grateful for the relentless work of our FBI Detroit Crimes Against Children Squad and our task force officers from the Detroit Police Department for aggressively pursuing those who victimize children and helping to hold them accountable,” she said.
