Mexico man sentenced to 20 years for child sex crimes

A Mexico man has pleaded guilty to child sex crimes, and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Rico Watson was charged with statutory rape, statutory sodomy, child molestation, and endangering the welfare of a child for raping, sodomizing, and molesting a teenager in 2013 to 2014.

Speaking about Thursday’s plea and sentence, Audrain County Prosecutor Jacob Shellabarger said the following:

“Although Mr. Watson took responsibility for his actions through today’s plea and faces twenty years in prison for these crimes, these victims and their families will live with the consequences of his actions forever. The family spoke today about the devastating effect Mr. Watson’s predatory actions – finding this girl, gaining her trust, promising her love and attention, then raping, sodomizing and molesting her – had on this family and our community. Mr. Watson used Facebook, text messaging, and a smartphone to take over this girl’s life: to make her feel unsafe in her home, school and community, and feel as if she had no escape from his control.

“When this girl came forward, it took extraordinary bravery and courage to overcome his control and repeated threats to harm,” Shellabarger said. “Too often, sexual abuse is a secret crime that makes a child feel as if they’ve done something wrong, and can scar a child’s body and their spirit. She can now grow beyond this, knowing that she told the truth, and is now safe from him.”