By Staff Reporter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Brendan Daniel Dinkins, age 28, has been handed a sentence of five years in state prison, followed by an additional five years under sexual offender probation. This comes after he entered a plea of nolo contendere to 10 charges of distributing explicit images to a minor.
Dinkins was initially taken into custody on July 31, 2025. The arrest followed a report from the victim to a Gainesville Police Department officer, in which she revealed that she had been in communication with Dinkins since the summer of 2024. According to the victim, Dinkins solicited nude images from her, sent her explicit photos of himself, and persistently urged her to meet him for sexual encounters, which she never did. She decided to report the situation after being blocked by Dinkins on Snapchat, fearing he might disseminate nude photos of her.
On the day of the arrest, a detective visited Dinkins’s residence, where Dinkins agreed to an interview. During the conversation, Dinkins acknowledged the interactions with the victim but denied any intentions of publicly sharing her images. He admitted to previously possessing partially nude photos of the victim but claimed they were no longer in his possession.
Upon consenting to a search of his mobile phone, detectives discovered 19 explicit images and videos sent to the victim through Snapchat, dating back to September 2024. Dinkins reportedly conceded to engaging in the exchange of sexually explicit material with the victim for the majority of their correspondence.
Initially, Dinkins faced 19 counts of transmitting harmful material to a minor and one count of the unlawful use of a two-way communication device. The charges were subsequently revised to 15 counts of transmission of material harmful to a minor and three counts of transmitting obscene material to a minor across state lines.
On June 8, Dinkins entered a plea of nolo contendere to 10 counts of transmission of material harmful to minors to a minor with an electronic device, and the other charges were dropped as part of the deal.
Judge Susan Wilson Bullard sentenced him to five years in state prison with credit for 314 days served, followed by five years of sexual offender probation; he will also be registered as a sexual offender.
