CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Ratcliff Davis is accused of fondling his 14-year-old neighbor.
The 52-year-old Davis is now out on bond, but he’s been forced to move after a Chesterfield judge ordered him to have no contact with his alleged victim.
A court affidavit spells out alleged sexual misconduct inside his third-floor apartment home at the Mallard Cove apartment complex. The teenage girl says Davis offered her alcohol and then touched her breast and rubbed her leg.
"I know the girl. She's my friend,” said Lacee Browning, who lives next door. “I didn't know all that happened. I know he has a daughter and a wife. It seems out of character for him. I'm shocked."
Davis has been charged with purchase of alcohol for an unauthorized person and aggravated sexual battery.
"These cases of aggravated sexual battery are not only aggravated because of the age 13 to 15, but also because of use of force,” said criminal defense attorney Ed Riley, who is not connected to the case. “That doesn't mean he used a gun or knife, just the intimidation can be interpreted as use of force."
The affidavit says the teen ran out of Davis’s apartment believing that she was going to be raped. Davis was granted a $7,500 secured bond on Friday but ordered not to have contact with the teen.
Davis lived upstairs from the girl, and neighbors confirm he has moved out.
Riley says a case like Davis’s can be hard to defend.
"There's rarely physical evidence in cases like this,” said Riley. “The touching doesn't have to be under the clothes. It's a very difficult charge to defend."
If convicted, Davis faces 1-20 years in prison and up to a $100,000 fine.
