During a three-day court proceeding in the 75th State District Court that concluded on Wednesday, March 27, a Beaumont resident, 44-year-old Rossy Anderson Davis, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Liberty County jury for a sexual assault incident in the Cleveland area back in 2019.
In May 2019, Davis made a trip from Beaumont to Cleveland to rendezvous with a 13-year-old girl behind the dumpster of her apartment complex, where he proceeded to commit a sexual assault inside his vehicle. Subsequently, the two engaged in explicit text conversations discussing their future together, including plans for the girl to move in with him and eventually marry him.
A few days later, the girl’s mother discovered the incriminating text messages on her daughter’s phone. Following a conversation with her daughter, she promptly contacted the Cleveland Police Department.
During the trial, the jury had the opportunity to listen to testimonies from the now 18-year-old victim, her mother, and the responding officers from the Cleveland Police Department. The prosecution presented evidence from the Department of Public Safety Crime Lab indicating that Davis’ DNA was present on the victim’s clothing obtained from the time of the assault.
Additionally, the State employed a tool known as “Cellhawk,” which utilized Davis’ phone records to demonstrate his presence in the vicinity of the child’s apartment complex during the assault. The jury also heard from a previous victim of Davis, who recounted being sexually assaulted by him at the age of 13.
Swiftly, the jury returned a guilty verdict for the charge of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child, classified as a first-degree felony due to the victim’s age being under 14 at the time of the offense. Given Davis’ prior statutory rape conviction in Georgia, the prescribed penalty for this crime in Texas was life imprisonment.
The case was handled by Assistant District Attorneys Kevin Barnes and Kayla Hebert. Barnes expressed gratitude to the jury for their dedicated service, acknowledging the emotional difficulty of such trials and emphasizing their role in enhancing community safety in Liberty County.
District Attorney Jennifer L. Bergman emphasized the resounding message conveyed by the jury’s decision, stating, “This verdict serves as a stern warning to the Defendant and all potential offenders in Liberty County: Engage in such despicable acts, and severe consequences await. Life imprisonment was the only fitting repercussion for this abhorrent behavior.”