Cahokia truck driver sentenced after impregnating Virginia 13-year-old
An over-the-road truck driver from Cahokia was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for Western Virginia on Friday for transporting minors across state lines and impregnating a 13-year-old girl.
David Skaggs, 33, was ordered to serve 180 months in federal prison for taking the girl from Virginia to South Dakota, along with her 15-year-old brother, with the intent of having sex with her.
According to court records, Skaggs befriended the 15-year-old boy on Facebook and became acquainted with his family, including his younger sister. He visited the family regularly and would sleep in the camper portion of his semi-truck, which he parked at the family’s house.
Skaggs had told the girl she was pretty and that they should be more than just friends. With permission of the children’s mother, the three embarked on a cross-country trip in his truck in August of 2015, court records state.
After a stop in South Dakota, Skaggs provided alcohol to the two teenagers, according to court documents.
In an interview with Child Protective Services of Lee County, Virginia, the girl said Skaggs asked her if she wanted to have sex as her brother slept. When she told him no, Skaggs removed both of their clothes and held her down in the sleeper portion of the truck. He covered her mouth so she could not call out to her brother, the report stated.
A medical examination concluded that the girl was pregnant and she gave birth to a child in the spring of 2016. The FBI concluded through a DNA sample that the child is likely Skaggs’.
Skaggs, who also listed an address in Bonne Terre, Missouri was charged in November of 2020 and arrested in Illinois. As part of a plea bargain reached on July 7, Skaggs pleaded guilty in federal court.
“David Skaggs befriended the victim’s family to gain their trust only to later identify and abuse the young victim after driving her halfway across the country,” acting U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar said. “Today’s sentence reflects the serious nature of his offense and just how serious this Justice Department approaches cases involving the abuse of children.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lee County Sheriff’s Department, and Virginia Department of Social Services investigated the case.
This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 6:33 PM.
