Actor charged with molesting boy he met during a play at local FL theatre

(TW: details of sexual assault)

In 2014, local theatre actor, Alex Pinkston, met a young boy during a summer youth play at the Ocala Civic Theatre(OCT) in Ocala, FL. The boy, at the time, was around 11 - 12-years old. From that point on, Mr. Pinkston, who was in his late-60s at the time, became a mentor to the child and a trusted friend of the family. So much so, they would allow Mr. Pinkston to provide tutoring sessions and private acting lessons at his residence.

They had no idea that it was here when Mr. Pinkston began molesting the young boy. The abuse occurred over a dozen times and lasted over approximately six months.

The boy initially came forward with the allegations in 2017 but later recanted. However, he came back recently telling authorities he didn't want Pinkston doing it to anyone else. It should be noted that Mr. Pinkston’s most recent role was as the title character in OCT’s production of Scrooge this past November where he shared the stage with minors.

Alex Pinkston in “Scrooge” at the Ocala Civic Theatre (Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette)

According to local news, the boy told police “Pinkston inappropriately touched him and described other graphic sexual acts Pinkston did to him, including in a shower stall at the YMCA.”

Upon questioning by the police, Mr. Pinkston admitted to abusing the boy. He reportedly told the officer he had performed sex acts on the alleged victim at his home. He said he had performed sexual acts on the boy during a trip to Ormond Beach. He was arrested on Tuesday and charged with sexual battery.

(Ocala-News)

Officials at OCT initially had no comment about the charges. Rosie Miller, business & development director at the Ocala Civic Theater, told a local reporter on Tuesday that because “this is an active criminal investigation they don't have any information or comment to share at this time.”

However later on that day, the theatre released the following statement on their Facebook page,

Ocala Civic Theatre has been made aware of the arrest of former OCT actor Claude Alexander Pinkston. We are deeply saddened and appalled by this news, and our heartfelt sympathy is with the victim. OCT is assisting the proper authorities as needed.

We are posting this information because we believe that OCT has a responsibility to protect its guests, employees, and volunteers from known potential harm. While there is nothing we can do about what has already happened, we want to reach the largest possible audience to share what we know about the potential threat posed by Mr. Pinkston. In keeping with our obligation to the OCT family, Mr. Pinkston has been barred from ever returning to the Theatre.

While the theatre hasn’t confirmed or denied that they knew about the allegations in 2017, some have already commented that theatre officials knew and still allowed Mr. Pinkston to appear in productions, some with minors in the cast.

This is a developing story and we will update it as new information becomes available.