Rapist, child molester released

A second-strike rapist and child molester has been released after a Superior Court judge dismissed a case by the Orange County district attorney to keep the man locked up as a sexually violent predator.

The district attorney filed a petition to have Frederick Davison, 40, held in a state mental hospital after he raped a Huntington Beach woman, sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl and sexually touched the girl’s 9-year-old sister.

Judge David Thompson dismissed the petition after a two-week trial before it went to a jury because of insufficient evidence. Davison was released Tuesday.

To prove Davison was a sexually violent predator, the district attorney would have had to show he committed two sexually violent offenses, was diagnosed with a mental disorder and was likely to re-offend when released.

Davison raped a 21-year-old student he met outside a restaurant in Huntington Beach in 1992. He offered her a cigarette and a ride in his new car, but took her to a vacant lot. He struggled with her for nearly an hour before forcing her to orally copulate with him and raping her.

While out on bail for the rape, Davison touched his 9-year-old neighbor’s buttocks and rubbed her bare back in Los Angeles County. The victim left the room and Davison took the 12-year-old’s hand, rubbing it against his penis outside his clothes. He then tried to unbutton the girl’s pants, but she got away.

In 1993, Davison was convicted of rape in Orange County and pleaded guilty to lewd acts upon a child the same year. He was sentenced to 13 years for the rape and eight years concurrently for the sexual assault.

Davison is going to live in Topanga Canyon and must register as a sex offender within five days and be listed on the Megan’s Law website.

— Britney Barnes