- Kendall Pinder has a long history of sex crimes
- Pleaded guilty to two serious charges
- Played for the Globetrotters and three NBL teams
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Disgraced former basketball star Kendal “Tiny” Pinder could face deportation from Australia after being sentenced to a lengthy prison term for the latest in a long history of sex crimes.
The Bahamian-born basketball player was sentenced to eight years in prison in Sydney’s Downing Center District Court on Thursday after pleading guilty in April to sexual intercourse without consent and aggravated sexual assault.
The 67-year-old can first be released on October 25, 2026, after having already spent almost three years behind bars.
The rape charge stems from the fact that Pinder began having sex with a woman while she was sleeping in a bed next to him and was therefore incapable of consent.
Kendal ‘Tiny’ Pinder (pictured while playing for the Perth Wildcats in the National Basketball League) has been jailed for eight years and could face deportation.
Former Harlem Globetrotter left woman seriously injured in attack.
The final charge of serious sexual assault relates to Pinder having, on an earlier occasion, vaginally penetrated the same woman with his entire hand, leaving her with “severe and life-threatening” injuries.
In sentencing Pinder, Judge Andrew Scotting said a cognitive impairment attributed to him by a psychologist helped explain his history of criminal behavior, but did not excuse it.
In February, Pinder’s Australian visa was canceled by Immigration Minister Andrew Giles, the basketball player’s lawyer told the court.
A former member of the Harlem Globetrotters, Pinder’s Australian career began with NBL side Sydney Supersonics in the 1985-86 season.
He joined the Perth Wildcats in 1987, helping the team to back-to-back championships in 1990 and 1991.
Pinder then returned to the NBL for one season with the Wollongong Hawks in 1995-96.
He was previously convicted of sexually assaulting three women aged 16 to 20 between 1988 and 1990 and sentenced to five years in prison in New South Wales for the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl.
The disgraced former star (pictured) was previously sentenced to five years in prison for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl.
Pinder was also sentenced to 15 months in prison for a recent conviction after stalking a woman as she walked home from a train station in the Sydney suburb of Rockdale.
Judge Scotting told the hearing Pinder’s history of sexual assault raised concerns about the safety of the community following his release.
“He has had a number of convictions for similar matters and that needs to be taken into account,” he said.
Pinder’s lawyer, Anita Betts, argued that the circumstances of his offending, including the fact that the woman had consented to previous sexual acts, placed him at the low end of the scale.
But Crown prosecutor Daniel Waldmann argued the woman’s prior consent should in no way reduce the seriousness of Pinder’s crimes.
He described Pinder’s expressions of remorse as “hollow, superficial and disingenuous”.
The court heard the woman initially consented to Pinder’s request to put his hand in her vagina, but later changed her mind when she began to feel pain.
Pinder (pictured second from left, front row, wearing the No. 5 jersey after Perth won the 1991 championship) sexually assaulted three women aged between 16 and 20 between 1988 and 1990.
The woman pushed Pinder’s hand away and crawled away from him, the court heard.
In response, Pinder grabbed the woman by the ankle, dragged her onto the bed and, with a “quick and forced movement”, sexually assaulted her with his fist.
As a result, the woman experienced heavy bleeding due to vaginal tears, requiring a blood transfusion.
“The victim expressed her lack of consent in very clear and unambiguous terms,” Mr Waldmann said.
Pinder previously told the court he was sorry and took responsibility for his actions.
“I didn’t want to hurt him,” he said.
“She asked me to stop. To my immense regret and shame, I continued.