David Knox [photo], 33, will avoid any jail time after admitting to supplying illegal drugs to a minor and committing statutory rape, several times, against the same teen

A 33-year-old Maryland man who repeatedly gave heroin to a 15-year-old girl in exchange for sex will not have to go to jail.
David Knox pleaded guilty to lesser charges at Montgomery Circuit Court on Monday and was sentenced to four years of supervised probation by Judge Margaret Schweitzer.

Knox will also have to register as a sex offender. He will not be required to serve any prison time unless he violates his probation.
‘I’m not here to brand you for life, but I am here to protect the community,’ Montgomery Circuit Court Judge Margaret Schweitzer said during the sentencing.
‘I would have thought at age 32, you would have exercised better judgement.’
Knox and the 15-year-old girl first met after he responded to an ad she wrote on the social media app Whisper in July 2017. It read: ‘Will f**k for dope’.

      David Knox over a period of months in 2017, repeatedly gave heroin to a 15-year-old schoolgirl in exchange for sex

Knox delivered one gram of heroin to the teen from that month until September 2017. In return, the troubled 15-year-old girl had sex with him.
Prosecutors argued that Knox ‘took advantage of a young girl with a drug problem’.
‘He was a full participant, knowing full well she was underage,’ they added.
The girl began struggling with depression when she was 11 years old. By 15, she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
She soon turned to drugs, saying she was ‘just trying to be happy’.

‘Waking up every day was a chore,’ the girl, who identified herself by the pseudonym ‘Libseth’, told WJLA in October 2018.
‘The only thing stopping me from killing myself was that my family and friends were begging me not to,’ Libseth added.

In just months the troubled teen had tried 33 different drugs, including crack, cocaine, LSD, methamphetamine, oxycodone, morphine, fentanyl, PCP, and Xanax.

But it was heroin, she said, that was her ‘first love’.

‘I shot up every day, like multiple times a day,’ she added. ‘I could be sitting in a sewer and I could be bleeding to death, but then you shoot up some heroin and you’re the happiest person in the world.’

After finishing her freshman year of high school, Lisbeth ran out of money and desperately tried to find a way to continue getting her fix.

So she went on the app Whisper and offered sex in exchange for drugs.

Knox responded to the ad as did Kevin Burdette, a 32-year-old who is the father of three children. Lisbeth said she had sex with Knox in his own home.

David Knox and Kevin Burdette were charged with sexual offenses as was 22-year-old Antonio Gilham, who Lisbeth had met through mutual friends.
‘They were manipulative. They’re not good people,’ Lisbeth said. ‘Clearly what they’re doing is ruining someone’s life. They ruined my life.’
Knox blamed his actions on his own struggle with drugs.
‘A lot of my actions, I believe, were controlled by my drug addiction,’ Knox said in court, according to WJLA. ‘I hope the victim can get better from this and bounce back.’
Knox who sat quietly in court until Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Margaret Schweitzer offered him the chance to speak. Talking in hushed tones, the 33-year-old apologized to both the victim and her family.
“A lot of my actions, I believe, were controlled by my drug addiction,” Knox said. “I hope the victim can get better from this and bounce back.”
Defense attorney Christopher Wheatcroft, said drugs had been ‘squandering his [client’s] life’.
‘He made terrible choices, this being the worst of them,’ Wheatcroft added. ‘He is determined to not make future mistakes. His sobriety is important for keeping his eye on the ball.’
Wheatcroft said Knox, who spent 120 days in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility before trial, has since moved back into his parent’s home near Atlanta and applied for a job at Sam’s Club.
Prosecutors said there will be a restitution hearing at a later date, noting that the victim’s family has paid more than $50,000 in medical bills.

Lisbeth has shuffled through psychiatric hospitals, substance abuse centers, and numerous counseling sessions.
Her parents, who live in an upper middle class suburban division, said their savings have been completely wiped.
‘She was such a good child. She was on the honor roll and spoke multiple languages,’ Lisbeth’s mother said.
‘We didn’t suspect anything, but parents really have to look for the warning signs. Who could do this? It’s disgusting to be sleeping with and taking advantage of a 15-year-old girl.’
Lisbeth’s mother said she and her husband hope to one day retire to a Colorado ranch and help find a cure for bipolar disorder.

As for Lisbeth, she said it has been a ‘relief’ to finally find a path to sobriety.
‘I had three suicide attempts and I had two overdoses where I did lose my life and they did bring me back,’ she said. ‘I honestly thought I’d be doing drugs for the rest of my life. I honestly didn’t think I would be able to get out of it.’
‘But once I realized that I didn’t have to live that way anymore, it was such a relief.’