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Hi - I'm Brian. I am an attorney that practices in PA, NJ, NY, and IL. I am a former sex crimes prosecutor and my day-to-day cases are almost exclusively helping survivors of sexual abuse get justice. My team and I are ready to help.
Joel Davis, a 22-year-old student at Columbia University, has already built a career fighting against sexual violence. Focusing his work on the most vulnerable victims – children, Davis founded Youth to End Sexual Violence in 2014, spearheading the international group’s efforts to end rape and child sexual assault in nations torn by conflict. Through his organization, he spent time on the steering committee for the International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict.
But prosecutors say Davis has a dark secret. On Tuesday, June 26, 2018, Davis was arrested on child pornography charges. He could spend life in prison.
See related articles for more information on child sexual abuse cases: https://abuseguardian.com/ymca-sexual-abuse-lawsuits/
According to criminal charges against Davis, the 22-year-old activist and student was identified after he responded in May 2018 to a message posted by FBI agents on an online message board “frequented by individuals with a sexual interest in children, among other fetishes.” The message posted? “Looking for other no limits TABOO pervs in DC area. Bi dad here.” Davis’ alleged response (under the username “yngperv22”), “need me to come down and watch ur kids for a night :)”.
Then Davis allegedly proceeded to exchange contact information and pictures, while he and the FBI agent carried on a lengthy correspondence that lasted over a month.
During their conversations, prosecutors say Davis revealed his sexual interest in children (Davis said he had “no limits” and admitted to being interested in children “0+”), said he had sexually assaulted a child as young as nine months old and admitted to possessing child pornography.
At one point, Davis asked the agent to send him pictures of his non-existent 2-year-old daughter, writing, “when do you have that baby alone next […] i mean even for a few mins enough to FaceTime.”
Court documents say that Davis has already confessed to some of these crimes. In their criminal complaint, prosecutors say Davis admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old boy at his apartment in the past month. He met the young boy on the Grindr dating app, prosecutors say.
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. is disgusted. “Having started an organization that pushed for the end of sexual violence,” Sweeney said in a press statement, “Davis displayed the highest degree of hypocrisy by his alleged attempts to sexually exploit multiple minors.”
Davis has been charged with numerous sex crimes, including enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and distribution of child pornography.
“As if this wasn’t repulsive enough,” Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney stated, “Davis allegedly possessed and distributed utterly explicit images of innocent infants and toddlers being sexually abused by adults.” In text messages, Davis sent explicit photographs of child sexual abuse to FBI agents, prosecutors claim, some involving toddlers. He told the agents that he possessed “hundreds” of such images in his “collection,” highlighting his particular interest in “baby/toddler.”
A search warrant found Davis’ statements to be true; agents found a wide array of child pornography on his cellphone, the Washington Post reports. Davis has not yet entered a plea in the case.
There’s also evidence that Davis significantly inflated his credentials. In his LinkedIn profile, Davis says he served as a special ambassador to the United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.
And, while it’s true that Davis attended events on sexual violence at the UN, the organization, in a statement from UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says that the Office has “no formal relationship with Mr. Joel Davis.” Nor does the Office have a Youth Ambassador program at all.
Other claims, including that he had been among 200 individuals and organizations nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015, could not be independently verified by the Washington Post.
