LaQuantis Davis
A star Wildcat football player has been charged with raping a 15-year-old Lake Highlands High School student on school grounds.
LaQuantis Davis, 18, was arrested May 6 and charged with sexual assault of a child. He is being held in the Dallas County Jail on $100,000 bail.
Davis told police that he and the girl cut class together and walked to the Wildcat baseball fields, according to court documents obtained by WFAA-TV (Channel 8).
The girl resisted his advances, saying no and that it wasn’t a good idea. Davis told police the two were sitting on a watercooler, and the girl jumped off his lap and ran. He said he chased her and forced her to have sex after pushing her to the ground, the documents say.
Police said Davis and the victim continued to talk and to communicate by text message after the assault. In one text, according to documents, Davis told the girl, “It’s my fault. I forced you the first time.”
Davis’ past had been thought to be a success story.
When he was in the sixth grade, Davis’ mother sent him to live in Dallas with his aunt, hoping he wouldn’t end up in prison like his older brother. At Lake Highlands Junior High he was coached by Zach Garza, who took a special interest in him. When Garza founded Forerunner Mentoring, a nonprofit organization designed to break the cycle of fatherlessness for boys in Lake Highlands, Davis was one of the first students to join and receive counseling and tutoring help. When Davis’ mom relocated due to work, he moved in with Garza and his wife, Sara, and lived with them for two and a half years. Though he had moved out in the fall, the Garzas have said they consider Davis “a part of the family.”
Davis was on hand earlier this year when Forerunner prepared to celebrate its first class of LHHS graduates.
“Forerunner Mentoring Program’s Executive Director and Founder, Zachary Garza, along with the Board of Directors of Forerunner, are grieving and praying for everyone associated with LaQuantis Davis and this situation,” said the organization in a statement released Monday. “We understand these are very serious allegations and we are broken-hearted for all involved, including the victim. We send our prayers and thoughts to her and her family.
“While the Forerunner families are deeply grieved for these two young lives that have been changed forever, we are not without hope. We are reminded and even more committed to the mission of Forerunner, which is to break the cycle of fatherlessness in the Lake Highlands Community through Jesus Christ by investing in relationships with fatherless young men. Starting with elementary school-aged boys, Forerunner strives to fulfill potential by equipping them with tools to help them succeed in education, character and leadership. We do all of this while ministering to the heart of all who are affected by fatherlessness.”
