Detroit, MI
‘Love being a pedo’: Metro Detroit doctor, attorney, therapist accused in web of child porn chats
DETROIT – Three men — a doctor, an attorney, and a therapist — from Oakland and Wayne counties are involved in a web of child pornography chats, and some sexually abused young boys, according to federal officials.
The investigation into the men began after the FBI arrested a man in Toledo who had communicated with an undercover agent posing as a parent.
The man was arrested in March after traveling to Toledo in an attempt to sexually abuse a 7-year-old girl and a 6-month-old baby he believed existed.
Text messages found during the investigation revealed that all four men spoke casually about wanting to sexually abuse children, including those as young as 4 years old.
Jeremy Brian Tacon
During the investigation, agents reviewed chat conversations between Huntington Woods resident Jeremy Brian Tacon and the Toledo suspect, which reportedly included discussions expressing sexual interest in children and requests for additional child pornography.
One alleged text message to Tacon read, “Whatcha wanna see pedo?”
After Tacon responded, he reportedly received at least a dozen videos containing child sexual abuse material.
The Toledo suspect allegedly texted Tacon, “Wish we could find a kiddo and have our way together. Take him to a hotel and [explicit].”
“F*** yes brother,” Tacon reportedly sent back.
In November, the FBI executed a search warrant at Tacon’s home and seized his phone. When agents called the phone number linked to the text messages, Tacon’s phone rang.
Tacon was a licensed psychotherapist who worked at the Arbor Wellness Center.
In a statement, Arbor Wellness Center wrote, “Our first priority was, as always, ensuring client safety and continuity of care. There is no indication that these charges are related to the agency or its clients.
Mr. Tacon was an independent contractor on a limited contract and is no longer a part of the agency.”
Joshua Ronnebaum
Another man who allegedly had been texting with the Toledo suspect was Detroiter Joshua Ronnebaum.
From June 2022 to July 2023, the two men allegedly spoke about their shared interest in sexually abusing children. The Toledo suspect reportedly said he met up with Ronnebaum to do drugs, have sex and watch child sexually abusive materials.
Ronnebaum reportedly told the suspect he lived in a Detroit mansion with three other men, one of whom is also under FBI investigation.
Ronnebaum is a prominent attorney in Detroit who also reportedly served on the Palmer Woods Association Board of Directors. He practices environmental and immigration law.
Two neighbors Local 4 spoke with said they frequently interacted with Ronnebaum due to his position on the board. They said they weren’t surprised to hear about the allegations and that they were aware of all of it, stating it felt like Ronnebaum was pushing a personal agenda.
A search warrant was executed in November on the home and seized 38 media storage devices, including an iPhone that was allegedly on the nightstand next to Ronnebaum’s bed.
The iPhone’s screen was reportedly on and was displaying a prompt asking if the user wanted to confirm they wanted to delete the Telegram app.
Telegram is an encrypted messaging app, authorities said is frequently used in the distribution of sexually abusive materials.
Authorities believe Ronnebaum tried to delete Telegram when he realized the FBI was searching his home.
Another iPhone found in his closet reportedly contained more than 150 images meeting the federal definition of child pornography, including images of infants and toddlers being sexually abused.
Text messages reportedly found on Ronnebaum’s phone, where he spoke about being an English teacher in Japan and abusing a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old boy.
He allegedly shared that story with several people.
Lincoln Erickson
One of the conversations found on Ronnebaum’s phone was allegedly between him and Farmington Hills resident Lincoln Erickson.
Erickson is a physical rehabilitation doctor who graduated from Wayne State University and worked with the Detroit Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan. He has since been fired from his position.
“The individual in question has been terminated from the joint WSU-DMC Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation program,” read a statement from Detroit Medical Center.
Erickson and Ronnebaum allegedly spoke about wanting to travel to Thailand and sexually abusing children together.
“Love being a pedo,” read one text message.
Erickson reportedly shared a fantasy about having a relationship with a man where they would raise a child together that they would abuse and groom “from baby to adulthood.”
“Start them young,” read one message.
The FBI said Erickson reportedly shared in messages that he knows a father who allows him to abuse his 3-year-old son sexually.
Erickson was arrested at a Detroit hospital where he worked as a medical resident. During the arrest, he reportedly admitted to receiving child pornography he believed was AI-generated from a man in Chicago.
In a search of Erickson’s phone, a Telegram chat was found where he reportedly asked another man to share videos with him.
“Bro, I love other pedophiles,” he allegedly told the man. “So hot.”
Authorities said Erickson is currently on probation for a 2024 domestic violence case.
All three men — Tacon, Ronnebaum, and Erickson — are now facing federal charges related to possession and distribution of child pornography.
Ronnebaum and Erickson are expected to appear in court Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 1 p.m.
Parents, caregivers, and teachers can receive guidance on safeguarding children from online and offline dangers, including child abductions and sexual exploitation.
To report online child sexual exploitation, use the Cyber Tip Line or call 1-800-843-5678, operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in collaboration with the FBI and other agencies.
Copyright 2025 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
But we also can’t ignore the drastic fall-off from the Dolphins’ offense. Partially because of injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill over the past two seasons, the Dolphins have finished 22nd and 25th in scoring offense in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Injuries can be used as an excuse, but the greatest coordinators find a way through the adversity.
Beyond that, there are questions about his philosophical and schematic fit. While the Lions have built their offenses on grit and physicality, McDaniel seems to favor speed and finesse. But maybe that’s exactly what the Lions need. Detroit has two speedy players in Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs, who could probably be utilized more creatively, and it’s hard to imagine anyone better than McDaniel to do so.
McDaniel also has a very long coaching history with a lot of different coaching influences and schemes—including his closest coaching guru: Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers head coach has a scheme that is both more congruent with what the Lions do and much more adaptable.
On this EMERGENCY PODCAST, our crew debates the fit of McDaniel in Detroit, along with our thoughts on the Lions’ other known candidate: Commanders quarterbacks coach David Blough.
Before that, Erik Schlitt, Ryan Mathews, and I discuss our biggest takeaways from Lions general manager Brad Holmes’ end-of-season press conference, including the future of David Montgomery, whether Holmes really took accountability for his mistakes, and our confidence in him moving forward.
You can catch our discussion in the embedded podcast below or on any podcasting platform you’d prefer. Just search “Pride of Detroit.”
You can also catch video of the show over on our YouTube pages. Here are the links:
Will Tigers trade Tarik Skubal before free agency? MLB insider speaks
USA TODAY Sports baseball insider Bob Nightengale joins “Days of Roar” podcast to answer several questions about Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal, who can become a free agent after the 2026 season.
The Detroit Tigers and left-hander Tarik Skubal did not agree to terms on a one-year contract for the 2026 season before the 8 p.m. deadline Thursday, Jan. 8, to exchange salary figures in the arbitration process.
Skubal filed at $32 million; the Tigers filed at $19 million.
It’s a difference of $13 million.
An arbitration panel will review the case during a hearing scheduled for late January or early to mid-February. The arbitrators must determine whether Skubal is worth more or less than the $25.5 million midpoint. If he’s worth more, they will select his $32 million proposal; if less, they will select the Tigers’ $19 million proposal. The panel isn’t allowed to choose a salary in between $19 million and $32 million.
The Tigers operate as a file-and-trial club in salary arbitration under president of baseball operations Scott Harris, meaning there won’t be further negotiations with Skubal regarding a one-year contract. A multi-year contract could still be negotiated, but it’s highly unlikely.
Skubal – represented by agent Scott Boras – reaches free agency after the 2026 season. The 29-year-old is positioned to become the first pitcher in MLB history to receive a $400 million contract.
If the two sides were to reach an agreement before a hearing, it would likely be a one-year contract with a player option, thus maintaining Skubal’s path to free agency in the 2026-27 offseason.
The reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young winner was projected by MLB Trade Rumors to receive $17.8 million in his third and final year of salary arbitration. He previously earned $2.65 million in 2024, then $10.15 million in 2025.
Why couldn’t the Tigers and Skubal agree on a salary for 2026?
The arbitration case for Skubal is unusually complex, thanks to a rarely used provision highlighted by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Because Skubal has more than five years of MLB service time, he isn’t limited to comparing himself only to past arbitration-eligible players. Instead, he can compare himself to any player in baseball.
Those unique rights allow Skubal – who has five years, 114 days of service time – to point to MLB’s highest-paid pitchers (such as Max Scherzer’s $43.3 million per year from 2022-24 or Zack Wheeler’s $42 million per year from 2025-27), arguing that his elite performance warrants a salary in that range – not in the $17.8 million range, as projected by MLB Trade Rumors.
That’s what pushed the Tigers and Skubal to an arbitration hearing.
[ MUST LISTEN: Make “Days of Roar” your go-to Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
The current record for the largest one-year arbitration contract belongs to outfielder Juan Soto, who agreed to $31 million with the New York Yankees for the 2024 season.
If Skubal wins the arbitration hearing, he will surpass Soto and claim the new record with his proposed $32 million salary. If Skubal loses, then he will earn the $19 million salary proposed by the Tigers.
There are two other arbitration records on the line.
The highest-paid arbitration-eligible pitcher belongs to right-hander David Price, who earned $19.75 million with the Tigers in 2015 – his fourth year in the arbitration process as a Super Two qualifier. The largest raise for an arbitration-eligible pitcher belongs to right-hander Jacob deGrom, who surged from $7.4 million to $17 million – an increase of $9.6 million – with the New York Mets in 2019.
Those records for pitchers will belong to Skubal – but only if his proposed $32 million salary is selected by the arbitration panel. He will fall just short of the records if the panel selects the Tigers’ proposed $19 million.
Skubal is the best pitcher in baseball.
More notably, he is on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
In 2025, Skubal registered a 2.21 ERA with 33 walks (4.4% walk rate) and 241 strikeouts (32.2% strikeout rate) across 195⅓ innings in 31 starts. He made the All-Star Game for the second time in his six-year MLB career.
Skubal became the first back-to-back AL Cy Young winner since right-hander Pedro Martínez in 1999-2000, leading the AL with a 2.39 ERA in 2024 and a 2.21 ERA in 2025.
The Tigers haven’t been to an arbitration hearing since right-hander Michael Fulmer in 2019.
Fulmer lost the case, receiving the Tigers’ proposed $2.8 million salary rather than his requested $3.4 million. Before that hearing, the Tigers hadn’t participated in an arbitration hearing since 2001 – and the Tigers haven’t lost a case since 2000.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon during the season and Tuesday afternoon during the offseason on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
DETROIT — Former Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen has signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Colorado Rockies.
It’s the first signing of the offseason for the Rockies under new president Paul DePodesta. The deal includes a $9 million club option for 2027.
It’s the fifth straight winter that Lorenzen has signed a one-year deal following a seven-season tenure with the Cincinnati Reds.
Lorenzen, who turned 34 this week, signed a free-agent deal with the Tigers before the 2023 season. He made 18 starts and was selected for his first appearance in the All-Star Game before being dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline for infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee.
After a strong start with his new team that included a no-hitter, Lorenzen was moved to the bullpen and pitched sparingly in the postseason.
He found a quiet reception on the free-agent market, agreeing to a discounted one-year deal with the Texas Rangers before the 2024 season. He was traded to the Royals at the deadline and pitched well down the stretch, going 2-0 with a 1.57 ERA in 28 2/3 innings with his new team.
He re-signed with the Royals in 2025 and put together another solid season, posting a 4.64 ERA in 141 innings with 127 strikeouts and 39 walks.
Colorado is known as an unforgiving home for pitchers, and the Rockies lost a league-worst 119 games in 2025.
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