Donald Watts Found Guilty Of Possession Of Child Pornography

          Amul R. Thapar, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Tracy A. Reinhold, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly announce that Donald Watts, 29, of Somerset, Kentucky, was found guilty by a federal jury in United States District Court in London, Kentucky, of possessing child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(4)(B) The jury returned its verdict after a 2-day trial before United States District Court Judge Karen K. Caldwell.

The evidence at trial established that Watts possessed both video and still images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Watts possessed the visual depictions on two computers that had been used by Somerset Elite, a gymnastics studio that taught gymnastic classes to children. Somerset Elite is located in Somerset, Kentucky. At the time the images were discovered, Watts was a co-owner of Somerset Elite and a gymnastics instructor at the facility. Watts is no longer affiliated with the business.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The United States was represented in the trial by Assistant United States Attorney Erin J. May.

Wattsis currently scheduled to appear for sentencing before the United States District Court in London, Kentucky on March 8, 2006, at 10:00 AM.