FBI: Ferndale man sold children for sex so he could drive expensive cars, buy weed

Toriano Davis sold children for sex so he could drive expensive cars, buy weed and ecstasy, and satisfy his own deviant desires, the FBI says.

His victims were vulnerable, teenage runaways. He not only prostituted them and kept their money, the FBI says, but had sex with them himself, and hushed them when they protested.

"I don't like doing this ... and all I hear outta your mouth is how I need to keep doing it ... and I tired," a 15-year-old victim once texted him.

"Say less," Davis texted back, before reminding her that a customer was on his way.

But so was the FBI, which would eventually catch up with Davis, busting him as he drove a rented Porsche that one of his victims had paid for with her escort money. She was 16, and in the car with him.

Charges followed. And a guilty plea.

'This is a reprehensible crime'

In U.S. District Court on Tuesday, Davis, a 38-year-old Ferndale father of four, was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison for sex trafficking teenage girls out of metro Detroit motels while out on bond for alleged drug crimes in North Dakota.

Prosecutors said his victims include a 15-year-old girl he had sex with and taped the acts on his cellphone — all while selling her and others to strangers for sex, arranging their dates and driving them to area motels to make money for him.

"This is a reprehensible crime," prosecutors wrote in urging the judge to hand down a severe punishment for Davis.

"He saw that (the victims) were vulnerable children who had run away from home. He knew that the girls were minors," argued prosecutors, stressing Davis exploited his victims "for his own financial gain and sexual gratification."

Davis was indicted in October 2021, two weeks after his arrest, on charges of child sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. Sixteen months later, he cut a deal with the government and pleaded guilty to two counts of sex trafficking.

Davis's court-appointed lawyer could not be reached for comment.

Concerned relatives help FBI bust Davis

According to court documents and the U.S. Attorney's Office, police started investigating Davis while trying to locate two runaway girls who had fled the Lansing area in late 2020. A relative of one of the girls had contacted authorities and expressed fears that the girls were being trafficked in metro Detroit.

On Dec. 10, 2020, an investigator with child protective services contacted the FBI about the relative's concerns, and noted that the relative had found an online escort ad that included photos of the missing girls.

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That same day, an undercover officer arranged a sex date through the ad, and was given instructions to head to the Hawthorne Suites in Detroit. There, the officer was directed to Room 613, where he found and rescued a 16-year-old sex trafficking victim who knew the missing Lansing girls.

The room had been rented by Davis, who had provided the hotel with a North Dakota driver's license.

The next day, police went to the Red Roof Inn in Southfield, where they found and rescued the two missing runaways from Lansing.

In separate interviews with law enforcement, the Lansing runaways explained how Davis's sex trafficking operation worked: A third 16-year-old victim acted as a trainer for both runaways. She helped get them to Detroit, posted escort ads for them, arranged their sex dates, collected the money afterward and gave it all to Davis, who they referred to as "Tori."

Feds find victim No. 4 in Room 125, Quality Inn Hotel, Roseville

On Aug. 3, 2021, authorities received several tips that the 16-year-old so-called "trainer" was with Davis, and that Davis was staying at the Quality Inn Hotel on Little Mack in Roseville.

Hotel staff confirmed Davis was in Room 125, escorted law enforcement to the room, and knocked on the door.

"Davis opened the door completely nude," an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit, adding a nude female was also in the room.

She was 15, victim No. 4.

Police found used condom wrappers throughout the room and two cellphones. One was the girl's, the other belonged to Davis.

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'A scourge on our community'

Following her rescue, the girl told police that Davis had sex with her and recorded it on his cellphone. Police found the video.

“The sexual abuse and trafficking of children is a scourge on our community that leaves an indelible mark on victims,” U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison stated in announcing the sentence. “The video recording of that abuse perpetuates the abuse."

Perhaps more egregious, Ison added, is that "this defendant committed these heinous acts while on bond in a federal drug case."

Davis has long criminal history

According to court records, Davis has lived a life of crime over the last two decades.

Most recently, Davis has a state drug conviction and a pending federal drug case out of North Dakota, where he is charged with conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, heroin and fentanyl between North Dakota and Michigan. He was released on bond in that case in August 2020, though has repeatedly tested positive for marijuana since then — a violation of his bond conditions — and wound up getting arrested on child sex trafficking charges.

His past also includes several probation violations and multiple traffic-related offenses.

In 2006, he was convicted of receiving/concealing a motor vehicle and operating without a license after he stole a truck from the State Fairgrounds in Detroit and crashed it while being pursued. After the crash, he fled on foot into a yard. He was sentenced to 18 months’ probation, but violated his terms twice.

In 2015, Davis was sentenced to 12 months’ probation or eight days’ custody for fleeing the scene of a car accident while driving under the influence of marijuana. In that case, he violated his probation three times. Davis also has been cited for driving on a suspended license four times and failing to display a valid license three times.

A 'wonderful upbringing' and an opioid addiction

Davis has never married. He has four daughters who live with their mothers: an 18-year-old, a set of 12-year-old twins and a 5-year-old. According to court records, Davis maintains he had a "wonderful upbringing" in Detroit with a "supportive and loving family."

He also has battled cancer and an opioid addiction, with medical records showing that he "frequently came to ERs throughout metro Detroit seeking opioids," visiting one emergency room 40 times in a year.

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"Time after time, Davis would come to the ER citing pain, and would become aggressive towards hospital staff when they would not provide him the medications he wanted," prosecutors wrote in court documents.

Since May 2012, Davis has been unemployed and has collected Social Security disability, claiming that he supported himself by rapping and producing music.

Prosecutors tell a different story: "The facts of this case indicate that he, in fact, supported himself by trafficking drugs and children."

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ferndale child sex trafficker Toriano Davis gets 15 years in prison