Prince George’s County man sentenced to 30 years for sexually exploiting children

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — A Prince George’s County man was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison with 15 years of supervised release for child sex crimes, according to the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the District of Maryland.

David Jamal Watson, 40, pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting two children and producing child sexual abuse material. He is also required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

According to court documents, from September 2023 to October 2023, Watson sexually exploited a nine and thirteen-year-old, forcing them to produce, distribute, and try to sell child sex abuse materials (CSAM) that he would later distribute on social media.

The USAO states that the Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received two tips in July 2023 from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an IP address tracing back to Watson had uploaded over 50 files of suspected CSAM to Google’s platforms.

In October 2023, a search warrant was executed for Watson’s home, where five devices were seized that a forensic analysis later discovered to contain over 600 CSAM images, including images of the two children he was sexually exploiting. Investigators also found that Watson had been messaging people on Telegram and Instagram, where he sold the CSAM content to at least three people.

Court documents add that during an interview with Maryland State Police, Watson admitted to “viewing, retaining, and distributing CSAM” and that he had recorded the CSAM material in his home.

The USAO states that Watson was arrested in November 2023 at his home and has since remained in custody.