Davis attended events like the HRC Gala in New York | Photo: Instagram @supercoolkid212
Joel Davis, a 22-year-old Columbia University student and founder of Youth to End Sexual Violence, was charged with various child sex crimes.
Authorities arrested Davis on Tuesday (26 June) on charges of charges of attempting to sexually exploit a child, enticing a child to engage in sexual activity, and possessing child pornography.
Davis has entered no plea according to The Washington Post, who broke the news.
The FBI first discovered Davis when they posted a message on a site where people post ads soliciting children for sex.
An agent posted the following message: ‘Looking for other no limits TABOO pervs in DC area. Bi dad here.’
Another user, ‘yngperv22’, responded: ‘Need me to come down and watch ur kids for a night : ).’
Authorities subsequently traced the user to Davis.
‘Unfathomable and sickening’
An undercover agent began texting with Davis in May and June to gather more evidence.
The criminal complaint states that Davis told the agent he had an interest in children aged ‘0+’ with ‘no limits’. He previously had sexual relations with children of both genders aged 9 months, 6, and 7, he claimed.
Davis also sent the agent ‘disturbing’ photos of adults sexually abusing naked children.
‘When do u have that baby alone next,’ he said in a text to the agent. He was referring to the supposed 9 and 2-year-old daughters. ‘I mean even for a few mins enough to FaceTime.’
A search warrant later revealed a large collection of child pornography on Davis’ cellphone.
Authorities said he later admitted to his interest in children and toddlers.
‘Joel Davis started an organization devoted to stopping sexual violence, while allegedly engaged in the duplicitous behavior of sharing explicit images of infants engaged in sexual activity,’ said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman in the Southern District of New York.
Berman said it was ‘unfathomable as it is sickening’.
3/3 The conduct alleged against Joel Davis is as unfathomable as it is sickening, and as this case demonstrates, law enforcement will keep its watchful eye on the darkest corners of the internet to bring predators to justice.
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) June 26, 2018
A double life
Davis founded the organization Youth to End Sexual Violence in 2014. Its mission is ‘dedicated to eliminating the use of rape and sexual violence in conflict’. It also aims to get more youth survivors, leaders, and activists involved.
Davis traveled around the world doing this work.
He was a youth ambassador for the United Nations special representative on sexual violence in conflict. Another role saw him on the committee of the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict.
He gave TED talks and worked with the likes of Angelina Jolie.
A report in 2015 claims he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize when he was a student at American University before transferring to Columbia. Davis further wrote about this in the Columbia Spectator and opened up about his own experiences with sexual abuse.
Now he faces the possibility of a long sentence.
GSN reached out to Columbia University for a comment.
Update 28 June, 5:43 pm:
A Columbia spokesperson told GSN: ‘We share the view expressed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office that the allegations in this matter are unfathomable and sickening.’
