Paragould man, ex-MMA fighter gets prison for child porn

Exclusive: Deputy Prosecutor Gives Interview on Case to NEA Report

PARAGOULD, Ark. – A local man and failed MMA fighter had child pornography showing victims as young as what appeared to be 3-years-old to a State Police investigator.

“The Irish Brick,” (Jonathan) Enoch Bricker entered a guilty plea on March 25, 2019 to two counts of distributing, possessing, or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct with a child.

“He was looking at children,” said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Charlene Henry to NEA Report. “Pre-pubescent children. Like, younger than 10.”

Bricker admitted to it to the investigators with Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children, who found his Tumblr account, “whoami123456789.” It was set to personal use only. While in this Tumblr account, he looked for other users who had images of child porn. He found pictures he liked and saved them to his Tumblr. The company notified authorities on August 14, 2018. He had been looking at child porn since June 26 of that year on this particular account.

“14 to 20 is probably my peek attraction,” he stated to State Police on September 20, 2018.

In the same interview, he admitted to being addicted to steroids and sex. He acknowledged knowing that anyone under 18 was wrong to look at. But his victims weren’t just in his “peak” age range.

A child that appeared to be four-years-old touching an adult’s penis is seen in one image, the deputy prosecutor said. Another image depicted a three-year-old child being raped. The description was too graphic for us to publish.

“Every-time these folks download this stuff, it violates these children again,” Henry said. “And it generates such a market for it that it perpetuates this violence on these children again. These cases always carry pen time. These children are permanently damage.”

Bricker was found with approximately 100 images that police could connect to him. He ended up being charged for two. Henry explained that Bricker had no criminal history and each image would need to be shown to a jury. With even the description of the images being unsettling, the images would be far more so. Upsetting a jury when a court is most likely to render concurrent sentencing (served at the same time) rather than consecutive sentencing was not something she felt best to do.

Bricker was also a combat veteran who saw active duty deployment from July, 2006 to January, 2007, his military records showed. During this period, while gunner on an M1114 Humvee in Iraq, an IED exploded on the vehicle. He suffered head trauma and was diagnosed with PTSD, according to Henry. She said it was a mitigating factor for the prosecution and that he could have fallen under “alternative sentencing” which would have allowed for probation only.

“He was sentenced on count one to five years in the penitentiary,” Henry said. “Count two was ten years suspended sentence. If he’s out in the next couple of years and he messes up again, we can revoke him and send him back to the pen. We can sentence him to ten years.”

This charge is a Class C felony with a possible penalty of 3-10 years in the penitentiary and a fine of up to $10,000. Henry shared that she believed the seriousness of the charge should be greater than Class C but aside from state legislators, this is out of anyone’s ability to change.

Bricker is eligible for parole as soon as Dec. 12 but Henry said it is unlikely he will be out before two years.

“The parole board has the discretion, “Henry said. “Typically, they like to see sex offenders complete the sex offender treatment program. It takes like a year or so just to get into it. Then it takes a year or so of completion. He may be parole eligible in December, but he may not parole out until the parole board approves.”

Bricker will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life. His level will be determined by the Arkansas Department of Correction, who will assess him and assign him a risk score.

During his time in jail, Bricker wrote a letter to the deputy prosecutor blaming his child porn addiction on being in Iraq, his wife, and the death of a friend. It was entered into evidence.

Bricker is a professional MMA fighter with a record of 2-6-0. His last professional fight was in 2015, the fourth loss in a row. In the video below, Bricker fights his third professional bout against Bobby Taylor. Jump to 30 seconds to see the beginning. Jump to 37 seconds to see the end.