A 25-year-old Houston resident, Brice Andrew Flickinger, has been sentenced to ten years in federal prison for crimes that include the coercion and enticement of a minor, the U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei has confirmed. Upon pleading guilty on March 20, Flickinger faced U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison, who delivered the sentencing. A troubling victim letter, read out during the hearing, depicted the harrowing impact of these crimes on the young individual whose early years were marred by exploitation, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
As part of the sentencing, Flickinger was ordered to not only serve time but also to pay a sum of $5,000 under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015. He is furthermore required to forfeit his phone and will face a restitution decision at a later date. Following his incarceration, Flickinger is set to be placed on supervised release for the remainder of his life, a condition that aims to rigorously limit his access to children and to the internet. Moreover, he must register as a sex offender, a measure intended to aid in monitoring and preventing further offenses.
The chain of events leading to Flickinger's conviction began after an alert was raised on July 9, 2021, with the victim's mother reporting her daughter missing. Law enforcement officials were quick to respond, pulling over a vehicle shortly after the minor was seen being dropped off near her home. A search uncovered a phone on Flickinger, which, when examined forensically, contained at least nine videos with child sexual abuse material, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office press release. This evidence showed Flickinger and the minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
A search warrant subsequently executed at Flickinger's residence yielded multiple items, amongst them a pair of purple handcuffs situated suggestively near his bed. The investigation unveiled that the minor victim and Flickinger first connected over social media before moving on to meet in person around fifteen times. Flickinger would typically drive both of them to his home after midnight, further exposing the victim to inappropriate surroundings and experiences.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons will soon take custody of Flickinger, with his specific facility assignment pending. The FBI, with help from sheriffs' offices in Harris and Fort Bend County, carried out the investigation. The case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Celia Moyer, is part of Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006, this effort draws together federal, state, and local resources to pursue offenders and support the victims. For more information on Project Safe Childhood and internet safety education, the DOJ encourages visiting their official PSC page and associated resources, as mentioned in the same press release.
