Jury Convicts Durrell Davis of Sodomy & Sexual Abuse of Child Under 12 Years Old
A Kenton County jury deliberated less than an hour before returning guilty verdicts convicting Durrell Davis, 41, of First Degree Sodomy (Child <12) and First Degree Sexual Abuse (Child <12). The same jury then deliberated again for an hour before recommending the maximum sentence of Life in Prison. The case was investigated by Covington Police Detective Austin Ross, and Cincinnati Police Detectives William Wolner and Kelly Moore.
The verdicts were the culmination of a three day trial prosecuted by Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Emily Arnzen. Sanders said “This Defendant is a monster and he deserves every day of his life sentence!” During the trial, jurors watched a recorded interview of Davis during which he told detectives he was the victim of a “Hyper-sexual child” who continually touched Davis’s genitals and attempted to engage him in various forms of sexual acts. Davis also claimed the child subjected him to sex sex acts while he slept. According to Davis the child’s behavior began when the child was just three years old and continued for approximately two years.
Sanders applauded the jury’s service saying “What they heard was shocking and it’s not easily forgotten, but I hope they’ll sleep well knowing children will be safer with this man behind bars for life!” Sanders said child victim cases are especially difficult for everyone involved, “But what this victim has survived is unimaginable so delivering justice for a child is worth it.”
The case began after the child, who was in second grade, reported being touched on “bathing suit parts” to a teacher. The disclosure came minutes after the conclusion of a “Kids On the Block” presentation about children’s body safety at the school. Cincinnati Police were contacted because Davis lived in Ohio at the time of the report and the child’s initial disclosure suggested the sexual abuse occurred at his residence. Further investigation indicated the sexual abuse began years prior when Davis was staying in the City Heights Housing Project in Covington. Davis was eventually indicted in both Kenton County and Hamilton County. His case is Ohio is still pending.
“We often hear the horror stories when the system fails a child,” said Sanders, “But in this case the system worked exactly as designed.” Sanders said everyone did their job including the victim’s teacher, social workers, detectives, prosecutors, the judge, and the jury. “I can’t say enough great things about the victim’s teacher and the detectives,” Sanders said. “This was a team effort to win justice, and justice means the child now knows the monster will be locked in a cage for life!” said Sanders.
Posted on Saturday, April 2nd, 2022 @ 1:12PM
Categories: Blog, Commonwealth's Commentary, Media/Press Releases, Press Room
