A North Texas man has been sentenced to 99 years in prison for raping a 12-year-old family friend and trying to sell her for sex to bar patrons -- who refused.
Prosecutors on Thursday announced the penalty for 30-year-old Ricky D. Davis of Fort Worth. A Tarrant County jury on Wednesday convicted Davis of aggravated sexual assault of a child and trafficking a person under age 18, then ordered concurrent 99-year prison terms, according to the Associated Press.
The girl was invited last summer to spend a night at the Davis home, where he lived with his girlfriend and her three children.
Prosecutors say Davis raped the girl while they were alone, then drove with her to a bar and asked patrons to pay $50 to have sex with her. A bouncer rescued the child, according to the Associated Press.
According to the Tarrant County district attorney's office, Davis had known the victim since she was a baby and was like an uncle to her. On Aug. 19, 2012, Davis attended church with the girl's family, and later that day, she was invited to spend the night at his house.
When the girl arrived, Davis sent his girlfriend and her children to run errands. He then forced her into a bathroom and raped her. Davis then drove the girl to a bar in the 3300 block of East Lancaster Avenue in Fort Worth and ordered her to say "yes" to anyone he brought to the car, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Davis entered the bar and solicited patrons, telling them he had a girl in his car who would have sex with them for $50. Two patrons went to the car but turned Davis down when they saw she was a child. One of the patrons told a bouncer, who retrieved the girl and hid her inside the bar until police arrived.
One of them told the bouncer at the bar, who rescued the girl and hid her in the bar until police arrived. Davis, emerging from the establishment to find his car empty, drove home. He choked and beat his girlfriend when she asked what had happened to the girl, according to The Dallas Observer.
Davis was convicted by a Tarrant County jury of child rape and human trafficking charges. It took jurors 19 minutes on Wednesday to hand down the 99-year sentence.
In a press release, prosecutors describe Davis as "an ex-con (robbery, burglary, assault, etc.) with an obscene gesture tattooed on his neck." It shows a raised middle finger, accompanied by the words "***hole since 1983."
The trial is believed to be the first human trafficking case tried before a jury by the Tarrant County district attorney's office, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Human trafficking is the fastest-growing crime in the world, with the perpetrators making $32 billion a year buying and selling people for their profit and pleasure. The profits are huge and the risk of being prosecuted are slim -- the United Nations says 99 percent of victims are never rescued, according to Traffick 911.
