Victims of alleged Sacramento child sex predator span these 26 states and 6 countries
Law enforcement authorities on Tuesday announced the arrest of a Sacramento County man accused of using social media to lure children into performing sexual acts, in what officials described as a massive child pornography operation spanning the U.S. and potentially reaching victims on three other continents.
Authorities said investigators have identified more than 80 victims across American states, and that there may be more than 100 total victims including more than 15 in other countries.
The suspect, 24-year-old Demetrius Carl Davis, was arrested and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail downtown on Tuesday on a felony charge of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14. He is ineligible for bail and due to appear in court Thursday.
Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Rodney Grassmann said Davis is believed to have communicated “with well over 100 children” between late 2020 and December 2021.
In maps included in a Tuesday video news release, the Sheriff’s Office said Davis’ alleged victims span 26 states and one U.S. territory. The potential international victims span at least five countries.
Officials said investigators have identified victims in: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
There may be additional victims in Brazil, China, India, the United Kingdom and a Central American nation, authorities said. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is working with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to identify additional victims, sheriff’s officials said.
Davis “is suspected of generating numerous fictitious social media accounts portraying himself as a prepubescent female child named ‘Lizzy,’” Grassmann said. He said Davis used these accounts to contact underage children “in order to groom them” and “direct them to produce child pornography.”
Investigators asked parents who believe their child may have engaged in illicit communications or sent illicit content over the internet to someone named “Lizzy” through social media to call the task force at 916-874-3002. or send an email to icac@sacsheriff.com.
