A man from Sacramento County was arrested for allegedly grooming at least 80 different children into creating child pornography.
24-year-old Demetrius Carl Davis reportedly posed as a prepubescent girl called “Lizzy” in a variety of online profiles and contacted children between the ages of 6 and 13, Fox40 reported. The sheriff’s office searched Davis’s home in December 2021, uncovering “numerous” videos of children engaging in sexual acts on his devices, according to Fox40.
“At that time, we did not have enough evidence to arrest him on site, but we took all those electronics,” Sgt. Rod Grassman said, according to the New York Post, “Over the last several months, we have forensically analyzed all of those and have identified 80 different victims and an additional 15 to 20 internationally, which we have not identified yet.”
Davis reportedly befriended children and talked to them using sexually explicit language, the report continued. He also allegedly sent child pornography to children via social media profiles to establish a relationship and build trust, Fox40 continued.
Sheriffs said that Davis directed the children to make sexual videos of themselves, some of which also involved their siblings and other children known to them, according to a video shared by Sacramento Sheriffs Office. A majority of his victims are from the United States, with at least 15 victims living in other countries, such as India, Brazil, and China, the video continued.
The Internet Crimes Against Children task force received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about the online account allegedly run by Davis, according to the video. (RELATED: REPORT: Homeless Transient Found Dead On LA High School Campus)
He is believed to have contacted over 100 victims between the latter half of 2020 and December 2021, Fox40 reported. Sacramento Sheriffs are asking that anyone who may have a child that has a friend online named “Lizzy,” to contact them immediately, the video continued.
Sgt. Juan Hidalgo, commander of the Sacramento High Tech Crimes task force, concludes the video by noting that Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom has excluded the Internet Crimes Against Children task force from his proposed 2022/23 budget.