Illinois trucker accused of impregnating 13-year-old on trip pleads guilty, feds say
An Illinois truck driver accused of impregnating a 13-year-old girl in his semi has pleaded guilty, officials said.
David Kyle Skaggs, a 33-year-old from Cahokia, pleaded guilty Thursday to transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia.
In 2015, Skaggs began communicating with a 15-year-old boy from Virginia on Facebook and befriended his family. Skaggs visited their home in Lee County about every two weeks and slept in the camper part of the semi parked in the family’s yard, according to a criminal complaint.
During these visits, Skaggs told the boy’s younger sister she was “pretty” and suggested they be “more than just friends,” the complaint said. Skaggs took the brother and sister on a road trip in his semi that summer with the permission of their mom.
At a Flying J truck stop in South Dakota, officials said Skaggs gave the children alcohol and raped the girl in the sleeper area of the semi, the complaint said.
The girl learned she was pregnant several months later and gave birth in 2016.
She reported the sexual assault to Lee County Child Protective Services in October 2015. In 2020, the FBI collected DNA samples from her child, which “provide strong evidence” with a probably greater than 99.9% that Skaggs is the father, the complaint said.
A U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to questions Friday about reasons for the test being conducted about 3 1/2 years later.
Shortly after she was raped, the girl said she logged onto Skaggs’ Facebook account and discovered messages between himself and a 10-year-old in Florida, the complaint said. She told investigators that she messaged the girl and warned her to stay away from Skaggs.
Skaggs is scheduled to be sentenced in September. He faces a minimum of 10 years in prison.
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