Gainesville man charged with sexual battery of a minor, false imprisonment

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Felix Adriel Davis, 43, was arrested early this morning and charged with sexual battery of a minor and false imprisonment after allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl who was walking by and came over to his fire because she was cold.

The victim told a Gainesville Police Department Officer that she had left her home after fighting with her mother and had called her father at about 8:30 p.m. while walking down the road. Davis had a fire in his yard in the 1300 block of SE 22nd Avenue and called out to the victim as she walked by; the victim said she went to the fire because she was cold. She said she and Davis had a conversation, and after some time, Davis put out the fire and invited her into his house. The victim said she agreed to go inside because she was still cold.

The victim reportedly said they stayed in a front room for a while and then went to Davis’ bedroom. They had to walk through the kitchen, where Davis’ brother, Aaron Lajune Small, Sr., 38, was gutting fish. The victim said she began to feel uncomfortable at that point and began to fear for her life when she and Davis entered his bedroom. She reportedly said that Davis gave her $40 and told her not to tell anyone about what was going to happen, then he forced her to perform oral sex and raped her, although the victim said she told him repeatedly that she was 17 years old.

After the alleged sexual battery, the victim’s relative came to the door and asked for her, and Small allegedly told her that the victim wasn’t there. The victim told officers that when Davis found out her relative was there, he locked the side door and would not let her leave the house. However, when he turned his back, she managed to escape out the side door, yelling for help. Her relative told officers that she saw the victim running out of the house with Davis chasing her.

Post Miranda, Davis reportedly said he let the victim hang out by his fire because she looked cold and eventually invited her inside. He reportedly stated, unprompted, that she was 18 years old and that he locked the side door because the victim did not want her relative to find her.

Davis has been charged with false imprisonment and sexual battery of a victim between the ages of 12 and 18. He has two felony convictions; six felony charges and five misdemeanor charges have been dropped since 2017. Bail information is currently unavailable.

Small has been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor. He has no criminal history except a pending charge for driving without a valid license; Judge Walter Green set bail at $2,500.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.