Ex Philly Cop Guilty On Child Porn Charges, Faces 40 Years

PHILADELPHIA — A former Philadelphia Police officer pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to child pornography related crimes, authorities said.

United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said William Watts, Sr., 56, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to the charges of receiving and possessing child pornography.

In June 2022, Watts was charged by Information with child exploitation offenses.

The FBI arrested Watts, who was assigned to Philadelphia’s First Police District at the time of his arrest, in October 2021 after investigating a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Authorities said Watts amassed a collection of hundreds of images of child pornography between his online accounts and electronic devices.

Watts has since resigned his position with the department, and as a result of his conviction, he faces a sentence of up to 40 years in prison, a lifetime supervised release, and mandatory restitution of at least $3,000 per child victim, and other fines and penalties.

Watts remains incarcerated at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia pending sentencing.

"Watts has admitted to seeking out videos of children being abused for his own gratification – thus adding to the demand for these types of images to be produced and more children to be victimized," Romero said. "Our Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to doing the difficult work of investigating and prosecuting these heinous crimes in order to hold people like this defendant accountable, no matter their position in the community or occupation."