The Bureau of Prisons has been ordered to provide laser hair removal and other cosmetic services to a transgender pedophile currently incarcerated for sexually abusing his own 10-year-old son. Brian Buckingham, 47, changed his name to “Nani Love” and declared that he identified as “female” just before he was sentenced for the horrific crime.
Reduxx can exclusively report details from the disturbing case, the investigation into which began in February of 2020 after popular chat service Discord became aware of child sexual abuse material being uploaded to its platform.
Discord had received a report from a concerned user about abuse images that had been made public, and a human moderator verified the contents of the report and immediately notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Based on the IP address of the account associated with the image, the NCMEC went on to involve the Washington State Patrol. A detective was assigned to the case to review the evidence from Discord, which included an image file depicting an adult man preparing to penetrate the anus of a young child.
In April of 2020, a court issued a search warrant to Discord for all of the information associated with the account the image had originated from. Reviewing selfies the account had uploaded to various group chats, the Washington State Patrol was then able to confirm the owner of the account was Brian Buckingham of Neah Bay. An additional package of media provided to police by Discord revealed two videos featuring Buckingham and a child victim that was later determined to be Buckingham’s own 10-year-old son.
The videos, which were taken on what police described as a covert security camera that had been positioned somewhere in the room, were shared with another Discord user who actively encouraged Buckingham to sexually abuse his child.
Conversations between Buckingham and the other Discord user reveal that Buckingham frequently exposed his young son to homosexual and bisexual pornography.
Continuing the investigation, the Washington State Patrol found that Buckingham had exchanged Discord messages expressing an interest in rape and sexually abusing animals and toddlers. Buckingham also shared child sexual abuse material with other Discord users, and even engaged in sexually exploitative chats with at least one user who identified themselves as being 13.
Buckingham utilized multiple social media platforms, including Discord, to advertise his aspirations to become a gaming streamer focused on Rocket League. He went by several handles, including “The_Awakward_Package,” “DoubleDoc,” and “GamingDaddy” on TikTok, YouTube, and Periscope.
On a YouTube channel confirmed by Reduxx as belonging to Buckingham, the predator promoted his own full line of self-branded merchandise despite only having 73 subscribers.
Buckingham was also active in Native American suicide prevention campaigns as a neurobiology student at Washington State University. An X account belonging to Buckingham reveals that he was on the Washington State Suicide Prevention Plan Steering Committee in 2015, and met with Senator Tina Orwall in 2015. In 2017, Buckingham was listed as a Substance Use Program Manager at Circles of Care, a community health service for the Makah Indian Nation.
On June 2, 2020, the Washington State Patrol obtained a search warrant for Buckingham’s residence. Upon questioning, Buckingham denied any sexual contact with minors, and initially denied ever exchanging any sexual abuse media on Discord.
Because Buckingham is a member of the Makah Indian Nation and the crimes were committed on Makah land, the case was referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In the United States, major crimes committed in Indian Country are unable to be prosecuted by state officials and fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
Buckingham was initially indicted on two counts – one of the production of child pornography, and one of the distribution of child pornography. But the indictment was later revised to include three counts of the production of child pornography, one count of the distribution of child pornography, and one count of aggravated sexual assault on a child.
Buckingham’s case was slow-moving through the justice system due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His attorneys also pressed for a comprehensive mental health evaluation to determine his competency to stand trial. His attorneys briefly began to explore the possibility of a “sexsomnia” defense after receiving a report that suggested Buckingham may have a tendency to perform sexual acts in his sleep.
On December 4, 2024, Buckingham waived his right to a trial and entered into a plea agreement, admitting to the production of child pornography and abusive sexual contact with a child.
Just prior to being sentenced, Buckingham’s attorneys submitted a memorandum informing the court that he now identified as transgender and had changed his legal name to “Nani Love Buckingham.”
In a court document dated March 20, 2025, the pronouns used to refer to Buckingham were swapped to “she/her” and his transgender identity abruptly became the focus where it had not been mentioned at all in dozens of previous filings.
The memorandum claimed that Buckingham was suffering from “gender dysphoria” and had become depressed in wake of the Executive Orders issued by the Trump administration prohibiting the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) from “affirming” the “identity” of federal inmates who identify as transgender. It also revealed that the Bureau of Prisons had previously hastily arranged “gender-affirming medical treatment” for Buckingham just prior to Trump’s inauguration, but that the procedures had been abruptly cancelled due to the Executive Orders.
“BOP previously provided Buckingham with gender-affirming medical treatment and accommodations to address her gender dysphoria, including hormone therapy. The gender-affirming health care she was receiving afforded her relief from the distress of gender dysphoria and significantly improved her mental health,” the document reads. “However, the hormone therapy has now ended and the gender affirming surgery that was previously scheduled has now been cancelled. As a result, Buckingham’s depression and suicidal ideation have been exacerbated.”
Buckingham’s defense requested he be allowed to serve his time in FCI Butner in North Carolina, writing that the “reputation of this facility is that it is a safer location for transgender individuals, there is better access to psychiatrists, there are stronger health services available.”
The court ultimately imposed a sentence of 252 months in prison, and adopted the recommendation that Buckingham serve his sentence at FCI Butner. He was also ordered to pay $2,450 in restitution.
Just prior to the sentence being formalized in that case, Buckingham had already begun to file a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Prisons and Trump administration officials for alleged violations of his human rights.
In a motion filed in April of 2025, Buckingham claimed that Bureau of Prisons had violated his Eighth Amendment rights and his rights under Section 2 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 by denying him access to “medically necessary care.” Buckingham described himself as a “transgender female” in the motion, and claimed that he was at risk of irreparable harm if the accommodations were not provided to him.
“My mental health, psychological well being, and my ability to function have been severely damaged. I am in constant pain. I feel like I am being tortured, and I am very close to killing myself to make it stop,” Buckingham wrote. “I want an emergency temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction requiring the [Bureau of Prisons] to resume my life-saving, medically necessary [gender dysphoria] treatment and accommodations before I kill myself.”
Buckingham submitted two declarations to support his case, including one from Dr. Dan H. Karasic, a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco. Karasic recommended Buckingham be scheduled for immediate consultations for “facial feminization surgery, laser hair removal, and voice/speech therapy as gender affirming care.”
On September 18, United States Magistrate Judge David Christel filed a report determining that Buckingham was “likely to succeed” on the merits of his claims that his Eighth Amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment had been violated.
“Buckingham has presented evidence that she suffers from a serious medical need, gender dysphoria. She also has presented evidence that Defendants were aware of her need for the Consultations,” Judge Christel wrote, referring to Buckingham with feminine pronouns. “The evidence shows BOP healthcare providers at FDC SeaTac referred Buckingham for the Consultations, and then BOP healthcare providers at FCI Butner discontinued the requests for the Consultations without reason and summarily denied her request for the facial feminization consultation … The undisputed evidence shows the Consultations are medically necessary.”
Judge Christel then recommended Buckingham’s motion for a preliminary injunction be granted, and that an injunction ordering the Bureau of Prisons to provide him with the cosmetic consultations be issued. Explicitly included were those for laser hair removal, facial feminization surgery, and voice training.
United States District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez adopted Christel’s recommendations, and gave the Bureau of Prisons 30 days to comply with the mandatory injunction.
On October 8, the Bureau of Prisons filed an objection to Judge Christel’s report and recommendations, asking the court to either dismiss the case or pause it until a related class-action lawsuit—Kingdom v. Trump, brought by three transgender inmates challenging the Trump administration’s executive order banning gender-affirming care in federal prisons—is resolved.
“The defendants respectfully request that the Court dismiss Buckingham’s claims without prejudice—or, in the alternative, stay them pending resolution of the class claims in Kingdom v. Trump—and deny Buckingham’s motion for a preliminary injunction,” the filing stated.
Buckingham’s attorneys quickly countered, urging the court to uphold Judge Christel’s recommendations.
“Judge Christel correctly found that Ms. Buckingham has shown evidence of a serious medical need, that the BOP was aware of this need but failed to provide appropriate care, and that her ongoing distress and suicidal ideation constitute irreparable harm,” their response read. “Defendants have shown no hardship in providing the necessary consultations, nor have they offered valid grounds to stay or dismiss the case.”
The court has not yet ruled on the Bureau’s objection, but the preliminary injunction is likely to be reaffirmed. If Buckingham ultimately receives his requested “gender affirming” cosmetic procedures, it could mark one of the first successful challenges by a transgender inmate to the Trump administration’s executive restrictions.
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