(WXYZ) — A middle school basketball coach in Oakland County is facing multiple federal charges after investigators with the FBI say he had sex with a young student and filmed it.
Twenty-year-old Daveughn Gray is facing charges for production, possession and distribution of child pornography involving a 12-year-old girl, who was a student at the school he volunteered.
According to the criminal complaint filed Wednesday in federal court, Gray worked as a volunteer basketball coach at a middle school in Oakland County. It’s still unclear which school that was.
Former FBI Supervisory Special Agent Andy Bartnowak says it’s a problem the FBI takes seriously.
“The FBI has their crimes against children squad, but they’re also part of other task force groups," Bartnowak said. "We work with our state and local partners because this is such a problem."
This criminal complaint alleges a then-19-year-old Gray used his position as a volunteer middle school basketball coach to meet underage children including at least one 12-year-old girl. He met met her at the school while she was waiting to be picked up from cheer practice.
The FBI says he claimed to be 15 and then chatted with the girl on Instagram and Snapchat.
“That's exactly what the predator is doing, right? They’re gaining their trust,” Bartnowak said. "They use their authority figure to basically groom these kids to engage in conduct they otherwise probably never would, and that’s really the most deplorable part of this whole thing.”
Later that month, Gray allegedly ordered an Uber for the girl to come to his house where he had sex with her and filmed it. Screenshots were later shared in an Instagram group chat and students in the chat alerted a teacher who contacted authorities.
Bartnowak says it’s important now more than ever for parents to know who children are talking to on the internet and on their phones.
“I think vigilance is the key and you have to be proactive nowadays,” Bartnowak said.
Gray is facing three charges for producing, distributing and possessing child pornography, but Bartnowak says more charges for the sexual assault itself could be coming.
“He could be facing charges at not only the federal level but the state level if that’s what they decided to do,” Bartnowak said.
Gray claimed that it was a middle school-aged friend who had sex with the girl and used his phone to film it and message her, but the FBI claims to have weeks of text messages, Uber receipts and location data they say proves Gray was behind it all.
Daveughn Gray Criminal Complaint by WXYZ-TV Detroit on Scribd
