Cabot man faces charges of child sex abuse
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By Thatcher Moats Times Argus Staff - Published: November 24, 2009
BARRE – A 49-year-old Cabot man pleaded innocent on Monday to giving cigarettes, chewing tobacco and other favors to a young boy in exchange for oral sex.
James F. Davison, who was arrested on Friday, was charged with aggravated sexual assault in Vermont District Court in Burlington, and a judge jailed him without the option of posting bail.
Davison could face life in prison if he is convicted.
This is not the first time Davison has been charged with sexually abusing boys.
He was convicted of sex crimes in California in 1983 and spent about eight years in prison before moving back to Vermont, according to court papers.
"He did the same thing in California," said Vermont State Police Detective Trooper Aimee Nolan, who added that there were multiple juvenile male victims in California.
Davison, who was born in Montpelier, moved back to Vermont after he was paroled in 1990, Nolan said.
The abuse allegedly occurred in Calais, where Davison used to live.
The investigation that led to Davison's recent sexual assault charge happened quickly. On Friday, the Department for Children and Families, or DCF, called Nolan and told her about a recent disclosure of sexual abuse, according to Nolan's affidavit.
DCF investigator Nancy Miller then interviewed the alleged victim, who told her about the abuse.
Just after 9 p.m., police went to Davison's residence. He denied the allegations, court records show, and after about 30 minutes said he did not want to talk to police without his attorney. Police then arrested him.
Authorities were already familiar with Davison; Nolan and Miller even investigated a complaint in July 2008 that Davison may have been sexually abusing boys. The boy who is the alleged victim in the new case was interviewed at that time, but he denied there was any abuse, court records state.
On Friday, however, he told police the abuse did occur, starting in 2005 when he was nine or 10 years old.
In exchange for oral sex, Davison "would give us cigarettes, chew, and for me, I like riding 4-wheelers – he would let me ride as long as I wanted…" the alleged victim is quoted as saying in court papers.
The alleged victim said there were about 20 incidents of sexual abuse, which ended in 2007 when Davison told him "this will be the last time" and gave him a dirt bike in exchange for keeping quiet, court papers say.
The alleged victim said he denied the abuse ever occurred during the 2008 interview because he did not want to anger his family members and he was afraid of losing his dirt bike, which is his most prized possession, court papers show.
Nolan was pleased the alleged victim finally made the disclosure.
"I've been waiting for this day to come," said Nolan in a telephone interview. "It's pretty rewarding somebody finally came forward."
Davison was not required to register with the state's sex offender registry, according to Nolan.
The registry went into effect in July 1996, and if Davison was discharged from correction's supervision before that date, he would not have been be required to register, said Sheri Englert, who oversees Vermont's sex offender registry.
Court papers say Davison was released from prison in 1990, but do not indicate when he was released from correction's supervision. A call to the Vermont Department of Corrections on Monday was not returned.
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