Woman will plead guilty to raping 12-year-old cousin

Bruce Cadwallader:

Twyana Davis has been living a 10-year-old lie, but is expected to make it right Friday with a guilty plea to rape.

"She's at peace with her decision and it will probably be a blessing in disguise," Davis' attorney, Byron Potts, said yesterday.

Davis, now 30, has admitted that her 10-year-old daughter was born of a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old cousin.

For years, Davis had said she was raped at a party.

Her revelations mean Davis was illegally having sex with a minor.

Her daughter's DNA has since been matched to the cousin, now a 23-year-old inmate serving time for rape and aggravated robbery at the Lebanon Correctional Institution.

Davis' expected plea on Friday will be in lieu of an indictment, county Prosecutor Ron O'Brien confirmed.

The so-called Bill of Information will find Davis guilty of one count of rape, for which she can be sent to prison from five to 25 years under the 1995 statutes in place at the time. She will appear before Judge Michael J. Holbrook in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

A plea form says Davis had sex with the cousin in February 1995, when he was 12.

Though rape of a child younger than 13 now carries a life prison term, there was no provision for a life sentence when Davis had sex with her cousin, Potts said.

Davis likely will serve at least three years in prison before she is eligible for parole, O'Brien said.

She made headlines in November 1995, when after giving birth in her dormitory room at Ohio Dominican College, Davis placed the baby in a trash bin wrapped in clothing and plastic bags. A passer-by found the child and notified authorities. An attempted murder charge was filed against Davis, but later dismissed.

After her arrest and conviction for child-endangering charges, Davis was placed on probation.

She wrote Sacred Womb, a book about her experiences, and appeared on television's 20/20 and Oprah.

Davis regained custody of her child in 2000.

She also formed a nonprofit organization called Second Chance of Life, which focuses on preventing teen pregnancies and offering choices for expectant mothers.

Because of her case and others, Ohio passed the Safe Haven Law, which allows mothers of unwanted babies to bring them to hospitals, and police and fire stations within 72 hours of birth without being prosecuted.

Davis' custody of her daughter is now under review by Franklin County Children Services.

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