Penn State student accused of downloading, sharing video that depicted child sexual abuse
Dec. 17, 2024 update: Riley Davis was sentenced Dec. 17 by Centre County President Judge Jonathan Grine to four years of probation. He pleaded guilty in November to one misdemeanor count of obscene materials.
A former Penn State student was accused Monday of downloading and sharing a video that depicted the sexual exploitation of children.
Riley D. Davis, 22, of Bucks County, used the university’s network to download a video that showed several children engaged in sexual acts, a university police detective wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
He was also accused of using file sharing website BitTorrent to disseminate the video. A message left Tuesday with defense lawyer Stacy Parks was not immediately returned.
Davis admitted to downloading and watching the video, police wrote. He told investigators he downloaded it because of his “morbid curiosity” and said he know it was wrong, police wrote.
Davis is not enrolled at Penn State for the spring semester, university spokesman Wyatt DuBois wrote in an email.
“The Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response will review the allegations of misconduct and determine appropriate next steps,” DuBois wrote. “The university may take student conduct action in addition to, and separate from, the charges filed by police.”
Davis was charged with two felony counts of sexual abuse of children. He was released after District Judge Don Hahn set bail Monday at $50,000 unsecured. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 31.
This story was originally published January 23, 2024 at 3:51 PM.