CINCINNATI ENQUIRER | 8 minutes ago
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According to federal agents, Rini claimed to be Timmothy and had escaped from his captors after years of sexual and physical abuse.
Why?
Rini wanted to get away from his own family.
According to the FBI, Rini told investigators he heard about missing boy Timmothy Pitzen on TV’s 20/20,
and said he wished he had a father like Timmothy’s. Officials said a rerun of the show had been aired in the last several weeks.
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[U.S. Attorney Ben] Glassman
said the search for Timmothy is still ongoing.
‘My heart goes out to the family of Timmothy Pitzen,’ Glassman said. ‘I can only imagine the pain they've been through.’
Herb Stapleton, a Cincinnati FBI acting special agent in charge, said, ‘false reports like this one can be painful to the families of victims,’ and also waste valuable law enforcement resources.
Stapleton said FBI agents had been speaking with Timmothy's family during the investigation this week.
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Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco said her office performed the DNA analysis.
It was completed Thursday afternoon.
Sammarco said Rini's DNA was compared to the DNA of Timmothy's parents. When that didn't match, Rini's DNA was entered into law enforcement databases.
Sammarco said this case has been difficult because ‘
there's no greater win for law enforcement than to find a missing child.’
Glassman said law enforcement ‘moved heaven and earth to determine if they had found a missing child.’
‘
I think there were suspicions relatively quickly,” he said, but the priority was to ‘ensure that under any circumstances a victim is getting the care they need.’
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[Court] documents said the DNA provided indicated Rini ‘could not be related to Timmothy Pitzen's parents.’ The FBI database returned a hit for Rini.
After confronted by officers with his real identity, Rini said he heard Timmothy's story on ABC's 20/20.
‘He stated that he wanted to get away from his own family. When questioned further, Rini stated that he wished he had a father like Timmothy's because if he went missing, his father would just keep drinking,’ the complaint said.
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Timmothy Pitzen imposter Brian Rini charged, says he learned of case by watching 20/20