A former doctor from Farmington Hills accused of possessing child porn and making plans to abuse kids pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of receipt of child pornography, federal authorities announced.
Lincoln Erickson, 32, was arrested by FBI agents on Dec. 10, officials said. According to a criminal complaint filed in Detroit’s federal court, agents seized his phone in the parking lot of a Detroit hospital.
On his phone, investigators found videos of minors engaged in sex acts, as well as AI-generated pornography showing nude children touching adult men, U.S. Attorneys said. He also allegedly attempted to convince another man to let him bathe that man’s children and admitted to making plans to travel to the man’s house to do so.
“Bro, I love other pedophiles,” Erickson said during one text exchange with another man, according to the complaint.
The complaint said he also discussed plans to travel to Thailand to sexually abuse children.
‘Lurking among our trusted medical professionals’
Prior to his arrest, Erickson was a medical resident at a public university and worked as a doctor in Metro Detroit, authorities said.
Erickson was a physiatrist at the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan who earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Michigan and his master’s at Wayne State University School of Medicine, according to a biography for a 2023 conference hosted by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.
“This pervert was lurking among our trusted medical professionals. At the same time, he was feeding his disgusting appetites and plotting to abuse little children,” U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr said in a press release. “Thankfully, the FBI caught him when they did.”
Erickson’s attorney, Jordan Zuppke, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.
Erickson is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 15. He’ll be required to register as a sex offender, officials said. Receipt of child pornography is generally punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison.
“Any individual who records, possesses, or distributes child sexual abuse material should expect severe consequences under federal law,” Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said in the release. “We look forward to seeing this predator sentenced.”
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Former Detroit doctor pleads guilty in child porn case
Reporting by Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
