West Plains, MO. – A West Plains man was arrested last week after being indicted by a grand jury on multiple charges involving attempting to meet a teenage boy for sex.
Brandon B. Rinne has been charged with felony enticement of a child and misdemeanor furnishing pornographic material to a minor.
According to the probable cause statement, on July 21, 2023, the 14-year-old male victim reported to the Howell County Sheriff’s Office that Rinne had sent him sexually explicit photos and messages over Facebook Messenger. The victim went on to say that Rinne wanted to meet him to “talk shop” even after being told the victim was a minor, asked if they needed protection, and sent a picture of his penis to the victim.
When interviewed by authorities, Rinne told multiple stories about the events, stating his Facebook account was hacked, then that homeless people staying with him had sent the messages, before finally admitting to sending the victim the sexually explicit photo. He went on to say he did this as a “cruel joke” to get back at the victim’s cousin for an unspecified reason.
The probable cause statement states that Rinne has outstanding arrest warrants out of Jasper County, but Ozark Radio News was unable to locate any in online court documents.
Rinne was arrested on August 30, 2023, and held in the Howell County Adult Detention Center on a $25,000 bond.
