Motivational speaker at Alaska schools is prison-bound in sex abuse case, officials say
A man who gave motivational talks about overcoming a criminal past to students throughout Alaska will serve 25 years behind bars in connection with sexual abuse, prosecutors said.
Donteh DeVoe, 46, was sentenced Dec. 17 in Anchorage for one count of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, the Alaska Department of Law said in a news release.
He pleaded guilty to the charge in November, officials said.
Once he’s released, he’ll be on felony probation for a decade, prosecutors said.
DeVoe’s attorney didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
In 2019, DeVoe sexually penetrated and exchanged images that were “sexually explicit” with the victim, who was a minor, prosecutors said.
At DeVoe’s sentencing hearing, “the victim and her mother both gave impact statements that documented how the manipulation and abuse greatly impacted their lives and destroyed their family,” according to prosecutors.
DeVoe apologized, saying “he was ‘1000% wrong in (his) behavior,’” prosecutors said.
DeVoe also faces a federal count of production of child pornography. He signed a plea agreement earlier this year, and the Department of Law said he’s awaiting sentencing.
Federal prosecutors agreed to recommend the sentence in that case run concurrently with the sentence in the state case, according to the plea document.
DeVoe began giving motivational speeches around Alaska after serving time behind bars in connection with a federal drug conviction, federal prosecutors said.
In a 2018 promotional video posted on his Linkedin page, DeVoe is seen speaking at schools and events. He’s described as a motivational teacher and mentor in the video.
“Everybody has a purpose, everybody’s built for something,” he says in one clip.
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