Roland Vance Watson Sentenced to 40 Years for Child Porn and Sex Abuse

A 40-year sentence has been handed down to Roland Vance Watson, 55, of Hickory, N.C., for producing child pornography and committing a felony involving a minor while required to register as a sex offender.

According to U.S. Attorney Dena J. King, Watson was sentenced to 40 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for his crimes. He will also be required to register as a sex offender after his release from prison.

The investigation into Watson’s crimes began in January 2023 after law enforcement received information from a concerned adult that Watson had exchanged inappropriate text messages with a minor female. It was determined that Watson had sexually abused three minor females on multiple occasions between August 2021 and February 2023.

Forensic analysis of three cell phones seized from Watson and his home revealed multiple sexually explicit text messages between Watson and one of the minors. In some of the texts, Watson induced the minor to send him explicit images and videos of herself in exchange for gifts and candy. The phones also contained child pornography produced by Watson that depicted Watson sexually abusing the minors and other sexually explicit images and videos featuring the minors in various states of undress.

This is not Watson’s first offense. In 1991, he was sentenced to five years in prison for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in New Jersey. As part of his sentence, he was ordered to register with the Sex Offender Registry Board in any state or jurisdiction where he worked or resided. However, after moving to North Carolina, Watson failed to register as a sex offender.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Cervantes prosecuted the case, which was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Hickory Police Department as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.