Living with a charge the evidence couldn’t support – part 1A

On May 5, 2025, Davis Long was arrested and handcuffed in front of his children without knowing why. He was driven to the El  Dorado Springs Police Department and then soon on to Stockton.

He hasn’t seen his children for nearly a year.

On January 29th and February 26th we announced a series of stories starting with this interview, where Mr. Long shares his experiences living with  serious charges that were unsupported by evidence and what he witnessed during the process.

Much of what followed has not been publicly detailed – until now.

Q – Questioner/ Interviewer

A – Davis Long

[AVA] – Alleged Victim/Accuser

A: I really don’t want to do this.

Q:How are you doing?

A: I’m not sure how to answer that. I’m heartbroken, stressed, confused, and still trying to make sense of how any of this happened. I want real answers. I want to see my family. I want to go home.

Q: Why are you just now telling what happened to you?

A: Because now my case is over. I have been telling people what happened this entire time just not publicly. I’ve never had anything to hide. I’ve wanted people to know what has been going on, because if they were in my position, I believe they would be just as stunned by how this unfolded especially if they see how the responsible institutions involved all failed at the same time. The system needs changed.

I didn’t do what I’m being accused of and by the grace of God I have been able to prove that. I know this was not God’s doing. He is not the author of confusion. He does not cause people to lie and deceive, and He does not create chaos like this.

What I’m going to share is something I never thought actually happens in real life. I know we see things on tv about people who go thru situations like I have but it’s never ‘real’ until it happens to you.

From the very beginning, my attorneys instructed me not to say anything publicly and not to speak to my wife or anyone outside my immediate family. And that has been so difficult, I have felt this entire time all this mess could be cleared up early on if communications were allowed. But now with the case being over there’s so much that still needs cleared – that’s why unfortunately we’re here.

My wife and the kids have been all I think about and how much I’ve wanted to see them, wanting to know they are okay. Everything in me wanted to and still wants to be there for them. Looking at photos and videos of my family and home life like a spectator is not the same. I can’t tell you the hours I’ve spent looking at photos of my family and watching videos of my kids just to see them and hear their voices. Only staying “connected” to everyone through a screen. No parent or spouse should be forced to go through that.

At the beginning of all this, and for a long time after, I felt terrible for my wife. I couldn’t imagine what she was going through. I have wanted nothing more than for her to know none of this ever happened. It gutted me knowing that the lies told by [AVA] were hurting her and our two little kids.

None of this chaos ever needed to happen.

I want people to understand what something like this affects. It wasn’t just me. These lies spread and damaged many areas of many people’s lives. From the very beginning, and throughout, there were actions and inaction that allowed the damage to continue far longer than it ever should’ve.

I also feel I need to go on record so my kids will know what happened to their dad – that dad did not leave them, dad did not abandon them. I can’t imagine what they’ve been through, what they’re being told or the long term impact of this trauma and how it will unfold in their lives. Things like this echo for years. I want my kids to have the truth with them, so if they ever face questions or doubt, they can stand tall knowing their dad stood his ground, proved he was innocent and that he never quit.

They are so amazing and they need to know what happened and why and that they didn’t deserve any of this. I know of some of what has been said to them and it makes me sick, literally. I think any father would feel the same.

Q: Can you share what you mean?

A: That will be something that plays further in this story.

Q: You said “at the beginning of all this,” are you saying you don’t think that any more?

A: I don’t know. I’ll get into that later on in this story too. But I can say that has been the biggest question on my mind for the past year.

Was the story [AVA] told fully believed by everyone involved? Or did people who should have done the right thing realize fairly early or at any point that things were not adding up and still continue down this path?

There are things in [AVA] story that didn’t make any sense – things I thought for sure at least my wife would pick up on parts at the very least, should have raised questions for anyone reading it. There are things I have discovered, heard, observed over time that support both sides of that question. But I’ve never been given real clarity or a straight answer.

That question comes up repeatedly throughout everything that’s happened, and my attempts to get it answered are part of this story. I’m going to walk you through all of it.

Q: If you ever get that answer what are you hoping for?

A: That everyone was in the dark and genuinely believed what they were being told. But even reading the accusation, many people have immediately noticed things that don’t make sense. That and just the way everything unfolded, the way this all started was bizarre. So I don’t know.

Q: Why is that the answer you’re hoping for?

A: Because if people, especially my wife, knew the truth and still allowed this to continue, still tried to put me in prison for something I didn’t do, especially on those charges, and also keep me from my kids then that would be really dark, really evil.

The other reason or answer would be understandable and even forgivable I feel like. I try to hope for the best.

But now that this case is over I still haven’t been able to see my kids. Since the beginning I thought my wife would for sure do the right thing and try to right the wrongs. I thought she would be upset with [AVA] and realize what he has done, the pain he has caused her and the kids and I keep trying to give her a little grace, I figure she knows and hope she will choose the right thing over the deception, to choose the truth over the lies. I can’t imagine what I would go through if this was intentional or long term how that would affect my kids.

Q: What do you mean when you say how everything unfolded was bizarre?

A: Just the series of events, it made no sense. And even when I recount what happened, almost everyone I tell asks the same questions.

And I’ll get to that more here in a little bit. But what added to the confusion was that after the initial shock, nearly everyone involved continued to double down on earlier mistakes. Instead of slowing down and correcting course, the situation became more wild and harder to understand.

Q: How do your attorney’s feel about you coming forward?

A: They know I feel the pressure to speak out. They’ve been great and I feel there have been times they’ve been just as frustrated as I am. I think they’ve said this is the leakiest case they’ve ever seen. They’ve told me they know I’m innocent and that I didn’t do what I’m being accused of — I remember thinking how nice it was I didn’t have to try to convince them which actually brought some comfort knowing they believed in me. One of them told me they’re taught never to ask clients whether they’re guilty or not, but that in my case, they have no doubt. My case has been very unique.

Q: What made them so sure?

A: All the evidence that proves it. Evidence that can’t be refuted. And the absence of evidence backing any of the allegations, just words.

By June, I had already provided them with the key pieces of my defense. They initially held back, hoping for a swift and reasonable resolution. As time went on, they began showing more and more to the prosecutor.

And the State’s case, while already weak, went to No Case very quickly. The prosecutor had even acknowledged he had no case – that was indicated back in June/July. Here more recently, earlier this year he acknowledged that [AVA] was not being truthful. Even the former Victims’ Advocate, has acknowledged that [AVA] was lying, from what I’m told.

Q: If there was no case, then why did it continue for so long?

A: From what I’ve seen and been told, the prosecutor wanted nothing to do with this case, but instead of dismissing it, it continued to drag-on even after it had become clear there was no case and that the witnesses’ veracity is zero.

My best guess is that outside pressure and the optics surrounding a case like this landed in what I call a perfect storm. When my situation came up, despite there being no supporting evidence, it still moved forward. Only later did it become clear they were after the wrong person. I think other factors played a bigger part in how everything unfolded.

Q: What do you mean by that?

A: Even though the charges have been dismissed, I feel that truly correcting this, even for the future, would require admitting serious mistakes. That will come up further down the road in this story.

I learned from the judge that there is no statute of limitations on cases like this, meaning action could still be taken elsewhere. Clearly, I don’t know why, what that process involves, or how it is supposed to work, but I along with everyone else, it seems still have some serious questions.

The cost of that inaction has been enormous, not just financially, but personally and emotionally. And not just for me either, a lot of other people’s lives have been impacted.

Q: What has this cost you?

A: Time, time with my family. I had plans with my wife and kids going into last summer and was looking forward to school ending and being with them. We have a 5 and 7 year old now. I have missed watching my kids grow up for almost a year. I have missed birthdays, celebrations, holidays, the ‘firsts’, playing, teaching, holding, just the day to day with my kids. They are only little once and that time doesn’t come back. They grow so fast. I don’t know how I’m going to feel or what it’s going to be like knowing that the next time I see my kids they will look so different from when I last saw them. No one should be forced to experience that.

– Missing them is so heavy.

I’ve missed their mother, talking to her everyday, spending time, even the boring Sundays, little out of town trips, the day-to-day rhythm of family life, watching her be a mom to our kids, all the family things that was life. I  think everyone who knows me knew that. But the deepest pain is what this has taken from my children. My kids have been robbed of their dad, and I have been robbed of them. This is a critical time they need their dad in their life and I’ve needed them, this damage didn’t need to happen.

There was no reason for any of this. Nothing about this has been justice.

Q: So were you ever worried more about your family, than your charges?

A: Yes, always, that has always been my biggest concern. I love my wife and kids. I just want this fixed and hopefully for [AVA] to finally be honest and to get the help he needs. Whatever led to this issue didn’t begin with me. Whatever it is hasn’t been resolved. That unresolved situation is still around my wife and our two kids, and that remains one of my biggest concerns.

Q: You think nothing on that aspect of this story has been resolved?

A: No, I really don’t think so. I say that because after I was finally released from jail, I learned that [AVA] had been fabricating stories about me for months that kept escalating leading up to this. There were also some concerning behaviors during that same period. All of that will come out further in this story. What has been hardest for me to process is that even as time passed and even as opportunities arose to correct what was being said the story continued and got worse rather than being walked back.

Q: Okay,so when you’re ready start with what happened on May 4, 2025.

Part 1B continues next week.