St. Helens Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Federal Prison for Sexually Assaulting Minor

PORTLAND, Ore.—Gerald Ryan Davis, 37, of St. Helens, Oregon, was sentenced today to 13 years in federal prison and a life term of supervised release for travelling across state lines to repeatedly sexually assault a 14-year-old victim.

According to court documents, Davis used social media to find his victim and, beginning in December 2014, repeatedly traveled across state lines to meet in person and engage in criminal sexual conduct. Davis gave the victim alcohol during these encounters.

Davis, who was 33 years old at the time, had previously been convicted in 2011 of sexually abusing a 17-year-old and was sentenced to probation. While on probation, he repeatedly violated his release conditions by contacting minor victims and was ordered to serve two years in prison. He was released in July 2014, five months prior to sexually assaulting the minor victim in this case.

On January 31, 2017, local police officers arrested Davis after executing a search warrant at his St. Helens home. While in custody, he admitted to sexually assaulting the minor. On March 1, 2019, he waived indictment and pleaded guilty to one count of traveling with intent to engage in criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the St. Helens Police Department. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to call the FBI at (503) 224-4181 or submit a tip online at https://tips.fbi.gov.