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A California man was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly posed as a girl online to attract more than 80 minors to make pornographic videos, said the police .
Police say 24-year-old Demetrius Carl Davis used the name “Lizzy” to interact online with children between the ages of 6 and 13.
At least of the more than 80 police victims have identified so far were in Indiana. https://t.co/0YNV6tBdMM
— WTHR.com (@WTHRcom) April 27, 2022
Demetrius Carl Davis, aged 24, was arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office Sacramento after an investigation identified more than 80 child victims Davis allegedly set up to do and film sex acts that he saved on his cell phone and computer, Fox reported 40 of Sacramento.
Davis would pretend to be “Lizzy” to communicate with children, often from 6 to 13 years old, before convincing them to perform and record sexual actions with their siblings or other children, said sheriff’s office spokesman Sgt. Rod Grassmann.
“What is particularly egregious about this is that this preparation led our suspect to ask these children to perform sexual acts with their siblings, other relatives and other children they know, film them and then send that video to our suspect,” Grassman said in a video address.
Davis allegedly contacted the children through social media , where he had multiple accounts, police said. He is believed to have come into contact with more than 100 children from across the United States and several other countries, Fox reported 40.
In December , police executed a search warrant at Davis’s residence, where they found “numerous” devices with sexual recordings, they said.
“In that At the time, we didn’t have enough evidence to arrest him at the scene, but we took all those electronic devices,” Grassmann added. “During the last few months, we have forensically analyzed everyone and we have identified 80 different victims and between 15 Y 20 additional internationally, which we have not yet identified.”
Grassman said the abuse may have started at the end of 2020. He encouraged parents to take an active role in learning who their children are communicating with online.
“Every electronic device connected to the internet is like a window open to the whole world. You have no idea who is talking to your son,” he said.
Davis was arrested on suspicion of committing lewd or lewd acts with a child under the age of 14 years.