MD Man Arrested In National Sting Cracking Down On Child Sex Abusers

MOUNT RAINIER, MD — A Prince George's County man has been charged in connection to the production of child sex abuse material as part of a nationwide sting to arrest child sex abuse offenders.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, 205 child victims were identified and 293 child sex abuse offenders were arrested in the two-week-long crackdown called Operation Relentless Justice, a coordinated effort between law enforcement agencies - including all 56 FBI field offices - to identify, track down and arrest child sex predators, officials said.

“Operation Relentless Justice shows no child will be forgotten and that all predators targeting the most vulnerable amongst us will be held accountable,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. “This year, the FBI has led multiple nationwide surges across the U.S. to find and arrest hundreds of child predators. We will not stop until every child can live a life free of exploitation. We will utilize the strength of all our field offices and our federal, state, and local partners to protect communities across the nation from such horrific crimes.”

In Maryland, a federal grand jury indicted Christopher Alexander Watts, 27, of Mount Rainier, charging him with four counts of producing child sexual abuse material.

“We will not allow evil criminals who prey on children to evade justice,” Maryland Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. “Our federal agents have worked tirelessly alongside our state and local partners to track down these vile predators, and now our prosecutors will ensure they receive severe punishments to match their horrific crimes."

Those arrested allegedly committed various crimes, including producing, distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material; online enticement and transportation of minors; and child sex trafficking. Some of the alleged offenders include an airman out of Dallas, Texas, who was arrested with his wife for producing CSAM, as well as a police officer from Raleigh, North Carolina, who distributed CSAM to an undercover officer while discussing his interest in engaging in sexual contact with children.