LAWRENCE CO.—A bench trial was set to have begun on the day after Disclosure’s press time date (August 12, 2013) for Hubert C. “Skip” Davis, of Lawrenceville, regarding a single count of Child Pornography and a single count of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Victim between the ages of 13-18 and perpetrator was in a position of Trust, Supervision or Authority over the child.
These particular charges were filed May 2 of this year after an investigation into complaints in November of 2012 resulted in filing of two other child-sex-related crimes on December 6, 2012.
Those counts are still pending and it’s unclear whether they will be addressed at the bench trial, although they were indeed on the docket to be heard for a Failure to Appear/Final Trial Conference on August 12.
Accused of molestation
Davis, 70, is the man accused of molesting young girls last year, this while giving them transportation to sports practices at Lawrenceville’s middle school. During the investigation into the matter, authorities discover what they claimed to be pornographic videos and print material of youth over the years, this dating back to the 70s and continuing to the present time.
Local people who are aware of Davis and his practices over the years allege that Davis would entice a young person to his home in Lawrenceville under the pretense of selecting a paint color for a particular room, then in that room he would have a video running on a TV, the video showing local youth engaged in sex with one another. He would allegedly then tell the young person there that “they could do that too,” since they knew the people on the tape, and they would subsequently be enticed into being recorded in sex acts for Davis’ gratification.
Whether any of these will be displayed in the bench trial—which is a trial by judge; a jury won’t be selected—was unknown as of press time.
Reports of it going federal unsubstantiated, but specific
Reports in late July that indicated Davis was being brought up on federal child pornography charges remained unsubstantiated as of press time. Lawrence County prosecutor Chris Quick advised Disclosure that he was unaware of any pending federal investigation into Davis’ alleged doings, and that the bench trial was set to move forward as planned.
However, other sources in Lawrence indicated some very specific information as regards Davis that isn’t the kind usually “just made up”—that the feds were looking at Davis for evidence found of 120 separate counts of child pornography, which included both male and female children under the age of 17, and dated back several decades.
In Illinois, child sex crimes can be charged 20 years past the age the child reaches majority (18), so ostensibly, Davis can be charged with such crimes, if evidence exists, dating back to 1992.
However, there is no record whatsoever of federal documents showing anything has been filed against Davis on that level.
Nothing in Indiana, either
Generally, federal child porn charges can be filed if a computer is utilized to send images or videos, as it’s usually the case that somewhere in transit, the electronic files cross state lines.
It’s been suggested that Davis may have physically crossed state lines in order to obtain images, however.
There are no charges pending in the Southern District of Indiana’s federal court system, and records from the Indiana counties adjacent to Illinois don’t show any local charges, either.
As of press time, Davis remained jailed in Lawrence County under $50,000 cash bond on the initial charges.
If convicted, depending upon sentencing, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Check upcoming issues of Disclosure for outcome of the bench trial, or, conversely, if Davis accepts a last-minute plea, the outcome of that.