A 40-year-old Springfield man charged with production of child pornography told his 15-year-old victim, who viewed him as her pastor, to mix sleeping pills into her parents’ drinks so she could sneak out earlier in the evening to see him, according to a sworn statement filed in federal court.
Don Douglas, also known as “Uncle Donte,” was first arrested by Fairfax County police on Oct. 4 after he brought the victim to the police station where she reported the sexual abuse. After meeting with Douglas and the girl, police charged Douglas with abusing her. The charges escalated to federal charges after pictures of the girl were found on Douglas’ computer and linked to interstate trafficking of child porn.
According to an affidavit by a Fairfax County detective, Douglas was a close friend of the girls’ Northern Virginia family, which looked to him for religious guidance.
Douglas began visiting the family in May 2008, and in June the victim and her sisters spent a night at Douglas’ Springfield home, the affidavit said. While there, Douglas had sex with her, the girl told police. He continued to meet with the girl through Sept. 29 at his home and at a Pennsylvania hotel.
At one point, Douglas complained to the victim that he had to wait too long for her to sneak out at night to see him, the girl reportedly told police. The victim said she couldn’t leave until her parents were asleep. According to the affidavit, Douglas advised her to put sleeping pills, which he later gave to her, into her family members’ drinks.
Police said they later found several broken capsules of Sleepinal in the victim’s house.
When police executed a search warrant of Douglas’ home on Oct. 9 they found several digital cameras, one of which was mounted on a tripod and pointed at his bed. They also found pictures of the girl in sexually explicit positions, including one with her wrists and ankles in restraints on what appeared to be Douglas’ bed.
A computer forensics examination linked the pictures to Douglas’ cameras.
Douglas at first denied having sex with the girl, but later reportedly admitted to it, the affidavit said. He also reportedly denied providing sleeping pills to the girl or discussing drugging her parents.
