California Man Accused of Luring Over 80 Kids Into Making Online Sexual Abuse Material

Apr 28, 2022

A 24-year-old California man is accused of posing as a prepubescent girl to form relationships with more than 80 children throughout the United States in an effort to force them to produce online child sex abuse material.

California Man Accused of Luring Over 80 Kids Into Making Online Sexual Abuse Material

Demetrius Carl Davis, 24, was booked into the Sacramento County Jail on Tuesday on a charge of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, according to a report from NBC News.

A months-long investigation into Davis was launched after the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), Sergeant Rodney Grassmann said.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office identified more than 80 victims in the United States and alleged that Demetrius Carl Davis had pretended to be a young girl named Lizzy and contacted “well over 100 children” in 2020 and 2021, including some in other countries, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

The victims were typically between the ages of six and 13.

The Department of Homeland Security is assisting investigators in identifying more than 15 international victims, according to a video statement from Sergeant Grassmann.

“Davis is suspected of generating numerous fictitious social media accounts, portraying himself as a prepubescent female child named Lizzy,” Grassmann said.

“Davis used these accounts to befriend and communicate with children on the internet in order to groom them,” he added.

A search warrant executed at Davis’ house on December 1, 2021, led to the discovery of recordings of children engaged in sexual acts on the suspect’s electronic devices, Grassmann said.

According to Grassmann, Davis would lure the children into participating in the creation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) by:

• Speaking to the children in sexually explicit language
• Sending them child sex abuse videos
• Directing them to produce child sex abuse material

The videos showed children engaging in sexual acts with their siblings and other children, Sergeant Grassmann confirmed to NBC News.

“What’s particularly heinous about this is that this grooming led up to our suspect asking these children to perform sexual acts on their siblings, other relatives and other kids that they know and film it and then send that video to our suspect,” Grassmann said.

The abuse is believed to have started in late 2020, according to a New York Post report.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department issued a map depicting the dozens of victims throughout the country who were contacted by Davis:

Demetrius Carl Davis is believed to have contacted over 100 children from across the U.S. and several other countries. – Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office

Sergeant Grassmann encouraged parents to play an active role in learning who their children communicate with online.

“Every electronic device connected to the internet is like an open window to the entire world. You have no idea who is talking to your child,” he said.
Grassmann also urged parents and caretakers everywhere to “check their children’s devices for contact with a person named Lizzy.” He further encouraged anyone who discovers “anything suspicious” to contact the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office via 916-874-3002 or ICAC@sacsheriff.com.

It is unclear if Davis has a lawyer, according to NBC News. He is currently being held without bail at the Sacramento County Jail.