Rowlett Man Sentenced to 250 Months in Federal Prison for Attempted Enticement of Children

DALLAS—Joshua David Watson, 37, of Rowlett, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 250 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in November 2012 to an indictment charging two counts of attempted enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, from approximately July 25 to August 18, 2012, Watson used the Internet and a cell phone to persuade, induce, and entice a purported parent of two minor children to allow him to engage in sexual activity with the children. Not only did Watson engage in a number of sexually explicit conversations with the purported parent of the children about engaging in sexual activity with them, but he also made plans to meet the purported parent and children and engage in sexual activity with the children. In fact, he arrived at a pre-arranged location on August 18, 2012, where he was arrested.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “Resources.”

The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa J. Miller prosecuted.