Brian Rini sentenced for identity theft for claiming to be missing boy Timmothy Pitzen

CINCINNATI (WXIX) -- The man authorities say claimed to be a missing boy from Illinois was sentenced to two years behind bars.

Brian Rini, 25, pleaded guilty in January to aggravated identity theft for lying about being an Aurora, Illinois boy named Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in 2011 at age 6.

Rini was given credit for 20 months time served so he will spend an additional four months behind bars and will then be on supervised release.

“I'm sorry for what I've done. I wish that I could take it back but can't because it's already done and that I'm sorry for the family,” Rini said during sentencing.

• TRUE CRIME DAILY: Timmothy Pitzen case coverage - TCD

Police said Rini was wandering the streets of Newport, Kentucky, on April 3, 2019. Police said he told them he was Timmothy Pitzen, an Aurora, Illinois, boy who disappeared in 2011 at age 6. Authorities said Rini claimed he had just escaped captors who sexually abused him. Federal authorities said they were suspicious after he refused to be fingerprinted. DNA testing quickly revealed his true identity.

Rini invented a story about having recently escaped from a hotel room where he said two men held him captive and sexually abused him, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. But after being confronted with DNA test results, Rini admitted his true identity. He said he learned about Timmothy on the television show “20/20.”

WSYX-TV reports U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett made his sentence official Tuesday. Barrett told Rini earlier this year he faced a mandatory two-year sentence, but the judge wanted to see results of a pre-sentencing investigation before entering his sentence. Rini gets credit for time served, so he will be released on probation in less than four months.