SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif — More than 80 child victims have been identified in the United States in connection to a man accused of grooming children and having them make pornography, a California sheriff's office announced, including multiple victims from Houston.
Demetrius Carl Davis, 24, is suspected of portraying himself as an 11-year-old girl named "Lizzy" online and speaking with children in an effort to groom them, officials with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies served a search warrant on Dec. 1, 2021, after receiving a tip about an account suspected of uploading child sex abuse material online. They said they found screen recordings that showed children engaged in sexual acts. Investigators said they found numerous files in cellphones and accounts that he was using to communicate.
"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," said Sgt. Rod Grassmann, spokesperson for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office. "It would be hard to even paint the total picture of the devastation this does to young victims."
Authorities said at the time they didn't have enough evidence to arrest Davis on site when they served the December warrant, but were able to analyze electronics and identified 80 different victims from across the United States.
He was arrested on Tuesday and faces charges of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is working to identify another 15 to 20 victims from other countries, Grassman said.
The victims range in ages from 6 to 13 years old.
The sheriff's office said Davis could have spoken with more than 100 children between late 2020 and Dec. 2021. Deputies are asking parents to check their children's electronic devices and contact the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force if they think their child sent any illicit material to someone named "Lizzy." They can be reached at 916-874-3002 or ICAC@sacsheriff.com.
Below is the list of victims released by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
Jeffrey Lee, a sergeant with the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s office, said he’s worked cases similar to this one. His advice to parents is to have those difficult conversations with their kids.
“Make this topic, online predator, cyber bullying, a regular topic in the home. If they are comfortable with this they will bring it up to you,” Lee said.
Lee said to not be afraid to be a nosy parent and monitor your child’s devices as often and as needed. He recommends going through all their social media apps and even gaming apps.
“You need to take up your devices and look through them on a regular basis. Look for things that are indicative or trying of hidden things. Deleted internet history, spaces in between messages, something is missing,” said Lee.
This story is originally from our KHOU 11 News sister station, ABC10 in Sacramento. KHOU 11's Anayeli Ruiz contributed to this story.