Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Brendan Daniel Dinkins, 27, was arrested yesterday for allegedly sending explicit photos of himself to a 15-year-old girl over a period of about a year.

The victim came forward in May 2025 and told a Gainesville Police Department officer that she had been communicating with Dinkins since the summer of 2024; she said Dinkins requested nude images of her, sent her nude photos of his genitals, and asked her almost daily to meet him for sex, although she said she never did.

The victim said she had met Dinkins online and provided identification information for him but said she had deleted the images he sent and the messages between them.

When the officer asked why she had come forward after this had gone on for such a long period of time, she said Dinkins had blocked her on Snapchat and she was afraid he had nude images of her that he might share with others.

The officer submitted search warrants for Dinkins’s Facebook and Snapchat accounts, but a review of the records showed no communication between Dinkins and the victim; a forensic review of the victim’s cell phone also produced no evidence except an email account that presumably belonged to Dinkins.

On July 31, the detective went to Dinkins’s house, and Dinkins agreed to speak with him. Dinkins reportedly said he “recalled the situation” with the victim but did not “leak” or “expose” her in any way. He reportedly admitted previously having partially nude images of the victim but said he no longer had them; he said they had started communicating in July or August of 2024 and talked nearly every day until May 2025.

Dinkins reportedly consented to a search of his cell phone, and a detective reportedly found 19 sexually explicit images/videos that had been sent to the victim via Snapchat, going back to September 2024. The detective also reported that Dinkins had reached out to the victim in the past 24 hours, but she had not responded. Dinkins reportedly acknowledged that he had exchanged sexually graphic content with the victim for most of the time they had been communicating.

When asked why he hadn’t met with the victim in person, Dinkins reportedly said he was “way too old” and he knew it was morally wrong. He said he thought the victim was 16 or 17, and when told she was 15, he said if he could go back in time, he would not have done it.

The officer reported finding images of a younger unknown female on Dinkins’s phone in a “Hidden” folder. Dinkins reportedly said he thought she was 18 or 19, but she might have been 17 when they started communicating. A full search of his phone is still pending.

Dinkins has been charged with 19 counts of transmission of harmful material to a minor and one count of unlawful use of a two-way communications device. He has no local criminal history, and Judge George Wright set bail at $500,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.