- Wednesday November 30th, 2022 :: 06:20 p.m. PST
#LASD Special Victims Bureau is Seeking Additional Victims Regarding Arrested Serial Rapist
Detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Bureau, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Inglewood Police Department are investigating a series of sexual assaults involving numerous female victims throughout Los Angeles County.
On February 2, 2021, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies assigned to the Walnut Sheriff’s Station responded to the 17000 block of Colima Road, city of Walnut regarding a call of a forcible rape involving two adult female victims and a male adult suspect. The suspect had been invited to the victims’ home after having met on “Instagram.” Once there, the suspect forcibly raped one of the females and robbed them of their cell phones. The suspect fled the scene in a dark gray sedan. He later re-contacted one of the victims via social media and sent threatening messages to her. The suspect also accessed her phone, impersonated the victim on social media, and extorted money from the victim by threatening to post nude images obtained from her phone. The case was assigned to detectives for follow-up investigation.
During the investigation, DNA evidence was obtained linking the suspect to similar reported incidents within Los Angeles, Hollywood, East Los Angeles, and Inglewood. The incidents shared a common methodology wherein the suspect initiated communication with the victims via Instagram then lured them to various locations where the victims were sexually assaulted. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau detectives worked collaboratively with detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department and Inglewood Police Department and identified twelve separate incidents occurring in an approximate two-year period. Thirteen female victims were identified, four of which were minors. The suspect was identified as Michael Watson Jr., male, Black 21-years-old, from Los Angeles.
On September 16, 2022, detectives presented their cases to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for consideration of a criminal complaint filing.
On September 27, 2022, the District Attorney filed sixteen felony counts including one count of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child under 14, three counts of Forcible Rape, one count of Assault with a Deadly Weapon (Firearm), four counts of Attempted Extortion, and one count of Grand Theft, under Court Case Number TA158484, and an arrest warrant was issued by the Court
On November 8, 2022, at approximately 2:00 PM, detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’ Major Crimes Bureau Fugitive Task Force arrested the suspect in the Antelope Valley. The suspect was booked at Lancaster Station.
On November 10, 2022, the suspect was arraigned at the Compton Courthouse. The suspect remains in custody with his bail set at $1,790,000.00. His next scheduled court date is January 12, 2023, at the Compton Courthouse.
Based on the nature of the offenses, detectives believe there may be additional unidentified victims. Detectives are seeking the public’s help in identifying any such victims.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department - Special Victims Bureau is tasked with investigating the sexual and physical abuse of children and felonious sexual assaults involving adult victims. Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Special Victims Bureau toll-free tip line at (877) 710-5273 or by email at specialvictimsbureau@lasd.org.
If you prefer to provide information anonymously, you may call "Crime Stoppers" by dialing (800) 222-TIPS (8477) or use your smartphone by downloading the “P3 Tips” Mobile APP or “P3 Mobile” for the hearing impaired on Google Play or the App Store, or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.
Forwarded by:
Sheriff's Information Bureau
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
211 West Temple Street
Los Angeles California 90012
http://www.lasd.org
213-229-1700
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Alex Villanueva, Sheriff
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Address/Location
LASD - Los Angeles County Sheriffs Dept Information Bureau (SIB)
211 W Temple St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 213-229-1700