NEW UPDATE: Ex-MMA Sex Offender Arrested Again in Baxter County, Facing Revocation Hearing

UPDATE:
Jonathan Enoch Bricker was scheduled for a probation revocation hearing on Sept. 24. However, his attorney requested a continuance, which was granted. Bricker’s attorney has made court filings that indicate Bricker is receiving inpatient mental health treatment from the VA hospital in Little Rock.

The motion and plea day was scheduled for October 3 with trial the week of October 21. However, the prosecutor assigned to the case told NEA Report it is likely the case will be continued until after Bricker is released from the hospital.

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HENDERSON, Ark. — Jonathan Enoch Bricker, an ex-MMA fighter who was convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material depicting victims as young as what appeared to be 3 years old to a state investigator, was arrested Sept. 5, 2024, in Baxter County.

Jail records show Bricker, 42, was arrested for third-degree domestic battery, interference with emergency communication, and resisting arrest. He was booked at 11:16 p.m. on Sept. 5 and released at 9:09 a.m. on Sept. 6 on a $2,000 bond. In his booking photo, Bricker appears to be in a restraint chair.

Bricker is a level three sex offender in Arkansas. At the time a resident of Paragould, 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 served 149 days in prison, with a suspended sentence of 120 months.

On Sept. 5, 2023, prosecutors filed a petition to revoke his suspended sentence.

An updated petition was filed on Sept. 17, 2024. After several delays, court records show his revocation day is currently scheduled for Sept. 24, 2024. However, court filings indicate Bricker was in the VA hospital for in-patient treatment. Deputy Prosecutor Adam Butler said the case was being continued due to this.

A warrant for Bricker’s arrest was filed with the court on Sept. 17, signed the day before by Judge Pam Honeycutt.

On July 15, 2024, Bricker entered a guilty plea to a felony charge for failure to register as a sex offender. He was sentenced to 68 days in jail. Criminal information filed in the case by 14th Judicial Circuit Prosecutor David Ethredge showed Bricker “filed false paperwork or documentation regarding verification, change of information, or petitions to be removed from the registry, against the peace and dignity of the State of Arkansas.”

Court records say that on August 28, 2023, Bricker stated he had been volunteering at a local church as a door greeter and working with the sound and lighting equipment where children were present. The pastor of the church verified the defendant has volunteered for approximately two years.

As a level three sex offender, Bricker is required to present himself to law enforcement every six months for routine screening. As part of the screening, he must fill out a questionnaire about his personal life. One of the questions asks if he volunteers or works at any organization, church, or social event. For 2021, 2022, and 2023, Bricker checked no on each document.

Also, on August 29, 2023, authorities learned Bricker was using a cell phone to make contact with individuals. Bricker had stated in 2022’s questionnaire that he was no longer using the cellular phone, but the prosecutor said that wasn’t truthful.

On July 31, 2024, Bricker’s wife filed for divorce in a case that remains open. In her petition, she said the parties were married on March 14, 2022, and separated on August 25, 2023. The complaint alleges that Bricker treated her with “indignities of such nature as to render her condition in life intolerable.”

In a response filed on August 28, 2024, Bricker said he was married to his wife by his father, Pastor Steven Bricker. He alleged she committed adultery and abandoned him, but he wanted to make the marriage work. He also alleged she stole his German Shepard.

In 2020, Bricker sued the Sex Offender Assessment Committee for allegedly violating his rights to due process by declaring him to be a level three sex offender. In 2022, a judge ruled that his due process rights were not violated and denied his petition for judicial review.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Paragould man, ex-MMA fighter gets prison for child sexual abuse material