Accused online child sex predator makes first Sacramento County court appearance
A man accused of using social media to lure children and induce them into performing sexual acts made his first appearance on Thursday afternoon in Sacramento Superior Court.
Prosecutors charged Demetrius Carl Davis, 24, with 32 felony counts of committing a lewd or lascivious act with a child younger than 14 years old, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
Davis was arrested Tuesday and has been held without bail at the Sacramento County Jail.
Davis, wearing an orange jail inmate uniform, stood in the prisoner cage inside a courtroom on the first floor of the downtown jail. Davis did not speak during his arraignment, which lasted only 3 minutes, except to confirm his name.
Court Commissioner Kenneth Brody appointed the Sacramento County Public Defender’s Office to represent Davis in court. Brody scheduled Davis to return to court May 10.
Five girls and two boys are listed as victims in the 22-page criminal complaint; ages 6 to 13. Sacramento County sheriff’s officials say Davis is accused of victimizing over 80 children throughout the United States, children from California and 25 other states, including Texas, Indiana, Florida and New York.
Investigators from a regional cyber task force are working with U.S. Department of Homeland Security to help identify at least 15 other children internationally who have been allegedly victimized by Davis, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Prosecutors say Davis pretended to be a pre-pubescent girl named “Lizzy” on social media to befriend children and lure them into performing sexual acts online.
In the complaint, prosecutors alleged Davis initiated substantial sexual interactions with children younger than 14, used obscene material depicting sexual conduct, induced others to participate in a crime, induced a minor to commit or assist in a crime, and committed the crimes in a manner that indicates planning and sophistication.
If convicted on any of the criminal charges, Davis would be required to register as a sex offender as part of his sentence.
Alleged acts of child sex abuse
Prosecutors listed in the court document disturbing details that provide a glimpse of the alleged child sexual abuse involved in this criminal case.
From Nov. 20, 2020, through April 28, 2021, Davis persuaded a 12-year-old boy to touch his own genitals in a sexual act on three different occasions, according to the criminal complaint.
Prosecutors alleged that Davis convinced a 12-year-old girl to use her hand and an object to touch parts of her body, including her genitals, in a sexual manner on five different occasions between March 1 and Dec. 31, 2021.
The complaint says an 11-year-old girl was lured by Davis to use her hand and an object to touch herself in a sexual manner on six different occasions from Nov. 12, 2020, to April 11, 2021.
From Nov. 4, 2020, through April 2, 2021, Davis convinced a third girl to use her hand and an object on her body in a sexual manner, according to the complaint. She was 12 and 13 years old when the alleged sexual abuse occurred.
Prosecutors also alleged that Davis lured a 10-year-old girl to use her hand to touch her genitals and other body parts on four different occasions from April 24 through Aug. 26, 2021.
A 9-year-old girl was persuaded by Davis to use her hand to touch her genitals and other body parts on four different occasions from Oct. 11 through Dec. 24, 2021, according to the complaint. In that same time period, Davis convinced the same girl to allow a 6-year-old boy to touch her and engage in other sexual behavior, prosecutors alleged.
The same girl and a 6-year-old boy are listed in three other felony charges in the complaint.
Cyber tip leads to arrest
The investigation that led to Davis’ arrest began with a tip to the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
The tip, which came from the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children, was about an online account suspected of uploading child sexual abuse material onto the internet, sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Rodney Grassmann has said.
The task force on Dec. 1 served a search warrant at Davis’ home, where investigators discovered screen recordings on his digital devices that depicted children engaged in sexual acts, Grassmann said.
He said investigators learned that Davis created the fake identity on various social media accounts. Davis used the social media accounts to befriend children and communicate with them to “groom” them for sexual abuse, using sexually explicit language and sending them child porn videos, Grassmann said.
Investigators, through forensic analysis, discovered numerous files of child porn stored on Davis’ cellphones and the social media accounts he was using to communicate with the victims, Grassmann said.
There could be more victims. Investigators believe Davis communicated online with well over 100 children from late 2020 through early December 2021.
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.
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 3:33 PM.
