"This is a nightmare I have been living since May 2008," Davenport told The Free Lance-Star in September. "I have spent nine months in jail for nothing, for something that I did not do."

He said the allegations against him were made up because he and the victim's mother were in a legal battle on an unrelated matter.

The charges against Davenport stem from a Virginia State Police investigation after a 2008 complaint from the Department of Social Services.

The victim, who is now 20, his mother and other witnesses said they called police about the abuse, but said they believed that because of Davenport's relationship with the local Sheriff's Office, nothing would ever come of it.

Davenport was hired as a deputy in December 1988 by then-Sheriff O.J. Moore and left the force in August 1997, when Homer Johnson was sheriff. He worked as a school resource officer and as a D.A.R.E. officer.

Davenport testified that he resigned in 1997 to run for sheriff that year, but later dropped his campaign.

Portsia Smith: 540/374-5419
Email: psmith@fredericksburg.com