John Jefferson
James Pinker (19th Judicial District Attorney’s Office)
A Colorado judge sentenced a man to over a century in prison for sexually assaulting two 5-year-old girls in a basement nearly three years ago, prosecutors said Monday in a press release.
James Pinker, 37, was convicted by a jury in June of four counts of sexual assault on a child with a pattern of abuse. Weld County District Court Judge Vincente Vigil on Aug. 30 sentenced the defendant to 112 years-to-life in the Colorado Department of Corrections. According to the 19th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, the two girls showed up to the Medical Center of the Rockies on Dec. 12, 2021, to report that they had been sexually assaulted at a Weld County home while they were visiting a family member.
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The girls told detectives they were in the basement of the home playing a game called “Monsters” when Pinker came downstairs and suggested they play the “kissing” game.
“When asked what the ‘kissing’ game was, the victims said the defendant would put his mouth on their ‘privates’ and made them take their clothes off,” the press release stated.
Records show Pinker was arrested in January 2022 and bonded out. He was sent back to jail after his conviction and is in the process of being transferred to the Colorado Department of Corrections.
In addition, a 17-year-old girl said during sentencing that she had been sexually abused by Pinker as a child.
“The defendant’s actions were not only heinous, but he shattered the innocence and lives of several young children,” Deputy District Attorney Timothy McCormack said in a statement. “This sentence reflects the gravity of his crimes and the justice deserved for his victims. Protecting children in our community is at the core of our priorities, and while no punishment can undo the harm he caused, the court’s decision ensures that he will never have the chance to harm another child again.”
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