COLORADO SPRINGS – A probable cause affidavit obtained by News5 shows that a possible underage victim of Joseph Davis came forward nearly nine years before his arrest last month.
Now, Colorado Springs Police are asking for anyone who has interacted with Davis at or near his home at 944 E. Fountain Blvd. to come forward.
In a news release after his arrest, Colorado Springs Police detectives discovered evidence indicating ongoing sexual abuse of other children and the production of child pornography stretching back at least 35 years. However, during the course of the most recent investigation, detectives found they had interviewed one of his possible victims in 2010.
According to the documents, CSPD said a victim told police on May 17, 2010 that Davis made him perform oral sex and anal sex “several times.” The victim also said Davis made him pose nude and that Davis showed the victim that he had other naked photos of minors stored on disc drives on the bottom shelf of his nightstand.
Police searched Davis’ home on Fountain Drive more than 8 years after that interview. Detectives reported finding illegal materials as they followed up on a report from a different alleged victim.
The second victim reported Davis sexually assaulted him while he slept over with Davis’ grandchildren at a family home.
That victim reported Davis “made him go into his bed and sleep with him.” It was there that the boy said Davis forced him to have anal sex. The boy said he locked himself in a bathroom after the assault and Davis threatened to “kill his mom.”
Like the first victim, the second victim reported Davis showed him pictures of naked children on his computer and on a hard drive next to his computer. The boy also told a CSPD detective he witnessed Davis appear to use drugs. He also said he thought he might have been drugged while at Davis’ home.
The boy told police that he told Davis’ grandchildren he didn’t want to come over to play anymore. When he asked them if their grandfather had touched them, he told the detective that they “looked at each other quietly when he asked them.”
Police eventually searched Davis’ home and recovered floppy disks, USB drives, journals notes and photos from the home. The officer found that the dates on some material stretched from Nov. 11, 2001 to March 18, 2015. The officer said 20 of the 46 images on one CD featured explicit “taken in Joseph Davis’ bedroom.”
An officer also interviewed Davis’ stepson, Charles Portis, who lived with Davis at his home in the 900 block of Fountain Blvd.
According to the affidavit, when Portis was asked why his home was searched, “he immediately stated ‘child pornography.'” The document said that Portis denied knowledge about it, but said he had seen naked images on a screen that his stepfather was watching.
Later in the interview police said “he (Portis) stated he was not sure now why he said that.”
Police also requested to view video visitations involving Davis. Officers noticed three visitations came from Portis.
Police said during those visitations, Portis read a copy of the search warrant aloud and “laughed and said ‘a lot of stuff they didn’t find.'”
Portis told Davis that “‘he has the folder with the pictures’ and said the cops didn’t find that.”
The affidavit also said Portis talked to Davis about some other pictures. Davis said he “wasn’t worried” about them because one of the subjects in those pictures weren’t naked. The affidavit also read “he also wasn’t worried about the grandkids and asked Charles (Portis) if he understood what he said.”
Police announced Portis’ arrest on Tuesday for accessory to a sexual assault on a child in a position of trust and accessory to sexual exploitation of a child.
A warrant was issued for Davis’ arrest on Dec. 18 and he was taken into custody on Dec. 19. Davis pleaded not guilty on Monday to multiple charges, which included sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust.
Click here to read details of the arrest affidavit for Davis
