'Despicable' paedophile groomed child, 8, on PlayStation Minecraft game and child, 6, over Snapchat
| Published date | 05 April 2024 |
| Publication title | MyLondon (England) |
Pinkham, now of Restons Crescent, Greenwich, added the child on Instagram and asked them to send indecent photos in exchange for £30 worth of V-Bucks, a currency used in the game Fortnight. When horrified parents saw the images on the child's phone, they showed police, including chat logs where the child asked 'What does show butt mean' and 'How do I get a picture of my own butt'.
Pinkham was arrested at his Eltham address at 6.30am on November 11 2021, where police seized his Xbox and phone. Pinkham was questioned, but he lied and accused the child of 'talking inappropriately' and calling him a 'perv'. The victim later told police they were asked to take a photo of their 'rude part'. Pinkham maintained he could not remember the child's username.
Pinkham was released under investigation for the second time, but just over a year later, on December 14 2022, he struck again, posing as a seven-year-old boy to groom a six-year-old child over Snapchat. He threatened to hurt the child's parents, in return for indecent images, and sent obscene photos of himself.
When the child's family member realised what was going on, they messaged Pinkham's account, asking why he had contacted them. Instead of coming clean, Pinkham carried on his lies and told the victim's parents the messages were from an imaginary eight-year-old brother who was behaving strangely after the loss of his dad.
When Pinkham was arrested on April 13, 2023, police seized his devices and a top-up card linked to the number that had been messaging the child. When they searched his phone, they discovered hundreds of indecent images and searches for bestiality images.
'He's ruined so many lives'
MyLondon reported Pinkham's first sentencing hearing on Friday, January 12, which was adjourned because his true age, and some of his mitigation, still needed verification. At the hearing, prosecutor Allister Walker read emotional victim impact statements, including from one parent who described their feeling of guilt, and the emotional and mental effect on their household.
"It is truly hard to say how much this had an emotional and mental...
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