New info delays sentencing of Iron Mountain man accused of child sex crimes

DICKINSON COUNTY, Mich. (WLUC) - An Iron Mountain man accused of child sex crimes could face additional charges.

Nicholas Jon Krackenberger is one of seven people who was arrested during an October human trafficking sting that took place in Dickinson County. The operation was supported by investigative journalist Chris Hansen.

Krackenberger was originally charged with four felonies: child sexually abusive activity, two counts of using computers to commit a crime, and accosting children for immoral purposes.

On Dec. 15, 2025, he pleaded guilty to two felonies: one count of using a computer to commit a crime and accosting children for immoral purposes. The other two felonies were dismissed.

Krackenberger arrived in the Dickinson County Courthouse Tuesday for his sentencing hearing. The sentencing was canceled after investigators say they found new evidence this weekend on Krackenberger’s phone.

“Fourteen images of child sexually abusive material on Mr. Krackenberger’s phone,” said 41st Circuit Court Judge Chris Ninomiya. “They’ve (the prosecution) indicated, as an officer of the court, that they are going to be filing new felony charges.”

Dickinson County Prosecuting Attorney Abbey Anderson says the photos were viewed over a 24-hour period.

“The cellphone search warrant was only for that one day,” said Anderson. “The images were all on the phone, and it looks like they were accessed on Oct. 8, which is the same day he had intended to meet up with a child to engage in sex acts, per his own statement at his plea.”

Anderson says the photos were viewed by law enforcement and an ‘expert,’ which raised concerns for Krackenberger’s defense team.

“That raises for me a question about whether a competing or other experts might have a different opinion about whether these images actually qualify as CSAM (child sexually abusive material),” said Krackenberger’s defense attorney.

The defense also had questions about what time those photos were taken.

“Many of the images that were reported in this police report have time stamps and date stamps that are after the time that law enforcement had custody of Mr. Krackenberger’s phone,” said Krackenberger’s defense attorney.

Anderson says the misunderstanding is because the police report was done in Marquette, the eastern time zone, while Dickinson County is in the central time zone.

“It says 9:38 p.m. and 9:39 p.m. were the last two (time stamps), but I believe that that is simply because of the time zone change,” said Anderson. “In the CCU report, it’s Marquette time zone.”

Judge Ninomiya revoked Krackenberger’s bond. He was taken into custody by the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department.

Additional charges could be filed within the next week. However, the sentencing hearing is now April 7th at 10:30 a.m. CT in the Dickinson County Courthouse.

The other six individuals arrested during the human trafficking sting are also awaiting sentencing:

• David Anthony Bailey, 45, of Green Bay has a pretrial conference on March 2, 2026. Bailey is charged with four felonies: child sexually abusive activity, 2 counts using computers to commit crime, accosting children for immoral purposes.
• Kelsey Lee Burbank, 29, of Kingsford had a pretrial conference Tuesday. Burbank is charged with the same four felonies as Bailey.
• John Charles Coughlin, 61, of Iron Mountain has a plea hearing March 2, 2026. Coughlin is charged with the same four felonies as Bailey and Burbank.
• Joseph Scott Peters, 41, of Green Bay has a pretrial conference April 7, 2026. Peters is charged with the same four felonies as Bailey, Burbank and Coughlin.
• Guy Andre Ruder, 51, of Tomahawk, Wisconsin has a plea hearing March 2, 2026. Ruder is charged with the same four felonies as Bailey, Burbank, Coughlin and Peters.
• Dennis Walter Zuern, 65, of Iron Mountain has a sentencing scheduled for April 8, 2026. Zuern pleaded guilty to two felonies: accosting children for immoral purposes and using computers to commit a crime. The other two felonies were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.