Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Brendan Daniel Dinkins, 27, was taken into custody yesterday, accused of sending inappropriate photos of himself to a 15-year-old girl over approximately one year.

The teenager approached a Gainesville Police Department officer in May 2025, revealing that she had been in touch with Dinkins since the summer of 2024. She claimed that Dinkins requested intimate pictures from her, sent her explicit images of himself, and frequently urged her to meet for sexual encounters, which she said she never did.

The victim mentioned meeting Dinkins online, providing officers with details for his identification, but noted she had erased the messages and photos he had sent her.

When questioned about why she decided to report now after such an extended period, she explained that Dinkins had blocked her on Snapchat, leading her to fear that he might possess inappropriate images of her that he could share.

After obtaining search warrants for Dinkins’s Facebook and Snapchat accounts, the officer reviewed the records but found no communication between Dinkins and the girl. A forensic analysis of the victim’s phone only revealed an email account likely linked to Dinkins.

On July 31, a detective visited Dinkins’s residence, where he agreed to be interviewed. Dinkins reportedly acknowledged the situation with the victim but denied leaking or exposing her. He admitted to previously having some of her partially nude photos but said they were no longer in his possession; he confirmed they had been in contact almost daily from July or August 2024 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.