The ex-Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper accused of taking sexually explicit photos with a 16-year-old boy was indicted Tuesday in federal court.
Justin D. Watson, 46, is already facing charges in state court after authorities say he was involved in a sexual relationship with a high-schooler.
Watson was a trooper in Troop G in south-central Missouri at the time of the alleged offenses. A highway patrol spokesman said Thursday that Watson is no longer employed by the agency.
The new federal charge, sexual exploitation of a child, comes with a possible 30-year sentence, and there is no parole in federal court.
The federal indictment does not provide much information, but the allegations against Watson are described in detail in state court documents.
Authorities say Watson took pornographic photos of a 16-year-old boy in 2017 at Watson’s home in Mountain View.
According to the court documents, the photos included red wax drippings, a camouflage mask and a sex toy. One photo allegedly showed the penises of both the boy and Watson.
The boy allegedly said Watson used the boy’s phone to take the pictures, then sent them to his own phone.
Court documents say the boy was a student at Mountain View Liberty High School, and Watson was paid by the school district to umpire baseball games.
The boy allegedly said they did not have any sexual contact until he turned 17, the legal age of consent in Missouri.
Online court records indicate Watson’s state case — in which he is charged with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of sexual contact with a student — is moving toward trial in Butler County.
The News-Leader also learned that Watson was once the focus of an excessive force lawsuit.
Watson was sued in 2009 after a driver alleged he was attacked and choked by Watson during a traffic stop for no reason. A jury ultimately sided with Watson in 2010.