A 21-yr-aged Los Angeles male described by law enforcement as a “serial rapist” has been arrested for allegedly preying on gals and teenage ladies applying their individual social media accounts more than a period of two many years, officers reported Wednesday.
Michael Neal Watson Jr. was arrested on Nov. 8 and is going through 16 felony expenses that contain rape, assault, robbery, and attempted extortion. He remains in custody in lieu of $1.7 million bail. In overall, a job drive discovered 12 incidents concerning June 19, 2020, and July 20, 2022, in which Watson allegedly dedicated crimes towards 13 ladies and four ladies who were being under the age of 18.
“The incidents shared a prevalent methodology wherein the suspect initiated communication with the victims by way of Instagram then lured them to various areas where by the victims ended up sexually assaulted,” Los Angeles law enforcement said in the assertion.
The investigation into Watson started in February, when the sheriff’s office responded to a report of forcible rape and theft in Walnut, a suburban local community east of Los Angeles. The suspect, later identified as Watson, experienced been invited to an unnamed woman’s household immediately after acquiring satisfied her on Instagram. When he arrived, he reportedly raped 1 of two females who had been in the home and stole equally of their cellphones.
In accordance to law enforcement, Watson allegedly “re-contacted a single of the victims by using social media and despatched threatening messages to her. The suspect also accessed her mobile phone, impersonated the sufferer on social media, and extorted money from the target by threatening to write-up nude illustrations or photos received from her cellular phone.”
Throughout the course of the subsequent investigation, the assertion stated, “DNA proof was received linking the suspect to very similar claimed incidents inside Los Angeles, Hollywood, East Los Angeles, and Inglewood.”
In accordance to the felony grievance acquired by Cayuga Media, Watson faces five counts of next-diploma robbery, four counts of attempted extortion, and two counts of forcible rape. Watson has also been charged with forcible rape of a kid target around the age of 14 assault with a firearm aggravated sexual assault of a little one grand theft and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minimal a lot more than three years young (than the alleged attacker).
His arrest was the consequence of a multiagency investigation amongst the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the LAPD, and Inglewood Law enforcement.
“Based on the nature of the offenses, detectives imagine there could be supplemental unknown victims,” LA police said.
