SACRAMENTO, 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, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office announced, according to ABC 10 in Sacramento.
One of the child victims who has yet to be identified is from Spokane, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. No other details were made available.
The victims vary in age but deputies say they range between six and 13 years old.
In a video news release, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office identified the suspect as Demetrius Carl Davis, 24.
Davis is suspected of portraying himself as an 11-year-old girl named "Lizzy" online and speaking with children in an effort to groom them.
"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 sheriff's office.
The sheriff's office began investigating Davis after getting a tip about an account suspected of uploading child sex abuse material online.
Deputies served a search warrant on Dec. 1, 2021, and 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.
"At that time, we did not have enough evidence to arrest him on site, but we took all those electronics," Grassmann said. "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."
"Like I said, we have identified 80 individual victims, and I'm certain that we will have more," Grassmann said.
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.
"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," Grassmann said.
Davis was arrested and booked into the Sacramento County jail Tuesday on suspicion of committing a lewd or lascivious act with a child under 14, according to the sheriff's office website.