Vinnie Pinkham 19

Description

A 'despicable' paedophile who groomed a child on Minecraft was twice released under investigation before he was brought to justice. Vinnie Pinkham was sentenced to seven years in prison and given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday (March 28), after a multi-force investigation, led by the Met Police, spanning three years.

The 19-year-old, then of Catalina House in Eltham, first caught the attention of the Met in 2021 when the force seized his computer and put him on curfew during an indecent images investigation, which was later dropped. Shortly after the gamer got his computer back, he contacted an eight-year-old on his PlayStation while playing Minecraft, the court heard at an earlier hearing.

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.

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 affect on not just [my child] but whole house and family. This horrific crime will leave emotional scars on [my child] that will not heal," they said. "I never thought anything like this would happen to one of my children. The guilt will stay with me forever for not being able to protect my [child] from this despicable predator."

Another victim's family member said: "I always thought I would be able to protect my child. Now I have not I will always blame myself... I'm always telling [them] it's not [their] fault but [they] always blame [themselves].

"[Pinkham] was old enough to get someone his own age. Why did he not get someone his own age? He's ruined so many lives for his own bitter pleasure."

On Friday (April 5), the Met Police told how it took three years, working together with Greater Manchester Police and North Wales Police, to reveal the full extent of Pinkham's crimes. The investigation required hours of interviews with Pinkham and his vulnerable victims, viewing and grading of horrific material by officers, and support for the victims and their families.

In the end, Pinkham was convicted of:

• Two counts of sexual communication with a child
• Two counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity
• Three counts of possessing extreme pornographic images
• Possession of a prohibited image

Detective Constable Amy Burnell who led the investigation said: I would like to highlight the incredible work of the Mets investigation team; they viewed images of horrific material seized from the suspect and had to grade the severity of the indecency of the images for viewing in court. They did this efficiently and were able to still work professionally and with true commitment to the case.

The teams diligence and professionalism has ensured this perpetrator has been taken off the streets of London and will no longer be able to hide behind a computer screen and take advantage of vulnerable children enjoying online games and chat rooms with their friends.

Pinkham exploited childrens youthful ignorance for his personal gratification. We are committed to finding individuals who wish to cause harm to young people across London. Well do everything in our power to protect children, bringing to justice those predators who threaten their safety.