Jury convicts man of aggravated sexual abuse of autistic child in Camp Lejeune case
By WTVD News Staff
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JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina (WTVD) — A federal jury has convicted a man of aggravated sexual abuse against a child.
Court records and trial evidence revealed that David Leonard Mayes, 41, raped a nine-year-old severely autistic, nonverbal child while she was visiting her family on Camp Lejeune. The victim’s mother returned home early, found her daughter’s door closed and caught Mayes in the act.
Investigators discovered a tub of petroleum jelly in the child’s room with Mayes’s fingerprint on it. Forensic testing also confirmed the victim’s DNA on his genitals along with petroleum jelly residue on both.
Mayes faces a mandatory minimum of 30 years to life in prison.
“This monster preyed on the most vulnerable nine-year-old imaginable. He exploited his relationship with the family to violate this defenseless innocent child in the most inhuman ways imaginable. Rather than admit his heinous crime, he further traumatized the family by forcing them to recount what he did before the jury in open court. We will protect the heroes aboard Camp Lejeune and their daughters. We proudly secured this conviction from a jury of American citizens and look forward to advocating for a sentence that will ensure this predator will never hurt another child ever again,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle.
Special Agent in Charge Kelly Parrish of the NCIS Carolinas Field Office added, “Mr. Mayes must be held accountable for targeting and cruelly exploiting a particularly vulnerable child for illicit, selfish gratification.”
The case was investigated by NCIS and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen Haughton and Ashley Foxx, with U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III accepting the verdict.
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