Tractor-trailer driver sentenced for taking Virginia minors to South Dakota, engaging in criminal sexual activity

ABDINGDON, Va. – A tractor-trailer driver has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after authorities said he had sex with a 13-year-old girl from Virginia, who later gave birth to his child, while on a trip to South Dakota in his truck.

David Skaggs, 33, of Cahokia, Illinois was sentenced on Thursday in federal court for taking two Virginia minors to South Dakota and engaging in criminal sexual activity.

Recommended Videos



Court documents revealed that Skaggs was an over-the-road tractor-trailer operator who started talking with a 15-year-old boy from Lee County, Virginia over Facebook in 2015.

Over the span of several months, authorities said Skaggs and the boy, who is referred to as “AA” in court documents, developed a friendly relationship and Skaggs became familiar with the boy’s family including his younger sister, 13-year-old “KL.”

In August 2015, officials said Skaggs picked up AA and KL in Lee County and took the two children on a long-distance trip in his tractor-trailer to South Dakota. Authorities said that Skaggs then bought the minors alcohol at a truck stop in South Dakota where they all sat in his truck and drank. Once AA was asleep, Skaggs then had sex with KL and she later gave birth to his child, according to the DOJ.

On Thursday, Skaggs was sentenced to 15 years in prison.