DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- David Lee Davis, a veritable jack of all trades -- one-time Daytona cop, twice-failed candidate for elected office, political consultant, blogger, and substitute teacher -- also was a suspected pedophile, who used his local church ties to give the appearance of piety and kindness -- was arrested Wednesday at his workplace on a warrant by Volusia County sheriff's deputies and ordered held without bail, pending a first appearance.
Volusia County sheriff’s detectives are asking for the public’s help in identifying any additional victims.
David Lee Davis, 62 (DOB 1/7/1956), of Port Orange, was arrested Wednesday afternoon, just days after the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office started an investigation into a report of Davis molesting a 15-year-old local high school student. A school resource deputy was notified of the allegations on Sept. 27.
Sheriff Mike Chitwoood tells media outlets the VCSO has a strong case against substitute teacher David Lee Davis, arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a 15-yea-old boy he had befriended in school.
Sheriff’s detectives determined Davis first met the victim in a previous school year, when the victim was a student in middle school.
The school where the initial contact took place was not released by the VCSO. Davis was charged with lewd or lascivious battery on a victim under the age of 16, a second-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison, if convicted.
The victim told sheriff's detectives the abuse happened between the months of April and September of this year. He said Davis had asked him to start coming over to his home, where he could help him with homework.
Headline Surfer warned the district nearly two years ago in a series of emails and in two published stories of Davis' alleged ties to Ohio and accusations of being a pedophile.
The first story was posted Sept. 25, 2016 and headlined, Failed political candidate & substitute teacher David Lee Davis accused of being a pedophile on Topix forum site. The second story was posted Sept. 26, 2016, and headlined, Topix online post alleging failed political candidate & substitute teacher 'David Lee Davis is a pedophile' removed, but still shows up in google search.
The school district did not take the allegations by Headline Surfer seriously prior to Davis' arrest, despite numerous emails and even an in-person visit with district officials. After Davis' arrest, district officials had no comment when again contacted by Headline Surfer as to the earlier attempts by the internet news outlet to give the school district a head's up on Davis' alleged pedophelia ties.
In response to numerous media inquiries as to Davis' arrest, the school district said the long-time substitute passed background checks through the FBI and FDLE, when he was first hired as a substitute back in 2013.
In those five years: two complaints were made against Davis, and only one of the two was found credible, the school district's new spokeswoman, Kelly J. Schulz, said, listing them as follows:
• In 2013, Silver Sands Middle School students reported that Davis called them “idiots” and that he sarcastically told a student who answered a question correctly, “I’m surprised you got that right."
According to that first complaint, Davis also told students the cafeteria food was horrible, that they needed to be in school for an extra hour and they only deserved three weeks of summer vacation instead of two months.
After that, Davis was no longer allowed to substitute at Silver Sands Middle but was allowed to work elsewhere in the district.
• In 2016, the district received a second complaint about Davis, this time about alleged sexual misconduct and excessive social media usage while he was working as a substitute, running as a candidate for Volusia County Supervisor of Elections in the 2016 elections and in yet another role as a political blogger posting disappearing comments against incumbent Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis on school time and other promoting or bashing of candidates in other races as well.
Neither Kelly nor other senior district officials mentioned the complaint alleging past pedophelia concerns against Davis was filed by a member of the working press and that two stories on the allegations had been published in successive days on Headline Surfer.
A district review “failed to produce sufficient evidence to support the allegation.” the spokeswoman said, despite numerous Headline Surfer emails to the contrary showing almost-daily social media posts by Davis and other materials, adding the review was closed as "unsubstantiated."
The arrest report affidavit on Davis was quite telling as well in terms of any prior information linking Davis to allegations of pedophelia.
The 15-year-old victim was asked by a sheriff's detective if he was aware of any other child sexual assault victims, to which the teen advised that after hw was assaulted he had "read an article written by Henry Frederick about a Topix forum. The article advised that David Davis that David Davis had sex with a 17-year-old boy," according to the arrest affidavit.
The actual alleged sex act is very graphic and thus Headline Surfer has posted a portion of the arrest affidavit in an infographic here to summarize it.
The arrest report affidavit on Davis was quite telling as well in terms of any prior information linking Davis to allegations of pedophelia.
The 15-year-old victim was asked by a sheriff's detective if he was aware of any other child sexual assault victims, to which the teen advised that after hw was assaulted he had "read an article written by Henry Frederick about a Topix forum. The article advised that David Davis that David Davis had sex with a 17-year-old boy," according to the arrest affidavit.
The actual alleged sex act is very graphic and thus Headline Surfer has posted a portion of the arrest affidavit here to summarize it.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood was grilled by several Orlando TV news camera crews on the victim's reference to the Headline Surfer coverage. Chitwood said he would check into it, but has not reached out to Headline Surfer. An email from Headline Surfer in response to the TV news inquiries that the online news outlet offered to met with the sheriff or his investigators on the Davis situation, drew no response from Chitwood.
Sheriff’s detectives said Davis had been working as a substitute at five high schools — Spruce Creek, New Smyrna Beach, Atlantic, Seabreeze and University — and at five middle schools — Creekside, Silver Sands, Ormond Beach, Hinson and New Smyrna Beach.
“I’ve got a funny feeling there are other students who may have been victimized,” Chitwood said at a press conference after Davis' arrest.
Sheriff's detectives are asking anyone who may have information about other possible child sex victims allegedly by David Lee Davis, to contact the Sheriff’s Office’s Child Exploitation Unit at 386-323-3574.
To those who come across this breaking news story online or in google news searches, Davis is shown here in this Headline Surfer photo the day after his arrest at his first apperance at he Volusisa County Branch Jail courtroom in an orange jumpsuit, handcuffed in front and shackled at the ankles.