CA Man Accused Of Posing As Girl To Obtain Child Porn From Ohio Kids

OHIO — A California man has been accused of posing as a young girl online and grooming more than 80 children in multiple states, including Ohio. The man posed as "Lizzy" and asked the children to send him child pornography, authorities said.

On Dec. 1, authorities searched the home of Demetrius Davis, 24, and found "numerous screen recordings" stored on his digital devices showing children engaged in sex acts, Sgt. Rod Grassmann of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said in a video posted to the sheriff's Facebook page.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sent Sacramento investigators a tip that an online account in the area was suspected of uploading child pornography to the internet.

He used the accounts to contact and then groom children over the internet, talking to children in sexually explicit language, and even sent children videos of child pornography, Grassmann said.

After establishing a relationship with the children, Davis asked them to send him sexually explicit videos of themselves engaging in sex acts "with their siblings and other children known to them," Grassmann said. Most victims were between 6 and 13 years old, he said.

Investigators uncovered "numerous files" of child pornography in his phones and accounts. More than 80 child victims have been identified across the country, including two in Ohio, eight in California, nine in Texas, 11 in Indiana, eight in Florida, six in Pennsylvania and six in New York.

At least 15 victims live in other countries, Grassmann said. He asked that parents of children who contacted a girl named "Lizzy" via online messaging apps come forward.

Online records show Davis was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on felony charges of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14. He was ordered held without bail and was expected to appear in court Thursday afternoon.