To Catch a Predator · Bowling Green investigation
Richard Watwood
Also reported as Richard Mark Watwood
Richard Watwood was convicted of federal and state offenses following the Bowling Green sting. He received 46 months in federal prison and seven years in state prison.
Photo: To Catch a Predator Wiki
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Evidence
- Attributed reporting
- Jurisdiction
- Warren County, Kentucky
- Encounter
- Not established
- Decoy posed as
- Girl5
- Case number
- Not established
Personal details
- Born
- November 12, 1965
- Occupation
- Maintenance worker
- Marital status
- Single
- Height
- 5′5″
- Weight
- 180 lb
- Hair
- Grey
- Eyes
- Blue
Charges & sentence
U.S. District Court, Western District of Kentucky
Traveling in interstate commerce with intent to engage in sex with a minor
Convicted1
Sentence
46 months in federal prison and seven years in Kentucky state prison; five years of postrelease supervision and lifetime registration were also reported.
Attributed to the sources below. Consult the original record for full terms.
Case records
Kentucky state court (not identified)Hansen investigation · Warren County, Kentucky · Sentenced
- Court
- Kentucky state court (not identified)
Sentence
Seven years in Kentucky state prison and lifetime registration are reported; no aggregate with the federal term.7
Separate Kentucky state proceeding reported in the archived article. The federal travel conviction and its 46-month sentence are represented in a separate case; concurrency is not established.
Sources 7
U.S. District Court, Western District of KentuckyHansen investigation · Warren County, Kentucky · 2008 · Sentenced
- Court
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Kentucky
U.S. District Court, Western District of Kentucky
Traveling in interstate commerce with intent to engage in sex with a minor
Convicted1
Sentence · Aug 22, 2008
46 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.1
Date derived from the report published Saturday August 23 describing sentencing Friday. No relationship between the state and federal terms is inferred.
Sources 1
Case narrative
Aftermath
Perhaps the only smart thing he did the day of the sting, Watwood chose his right to remain silent when brought before investigators. However, he did engage in some casual conversation, revealing he had actually suffered a heart attack a few years before the sting and become an exercise nut as a result. Watwood was later charged with crossing state boundaries to engage in illicit sexual activity by the federal government since he came from Tennessee. Watwood remained in jail because he was never able to post bail for the accusations he was facing. He received a sentence of forty-six months in federal prison and seven years in a Kentucky state prison after being found guilty of both federal and state offenses. He filed a lawsuit against the FBP in 2010 but lost. He was later freed from prison in 2019, having spent twelve years of his life behind bars. Watwood served five years of probation which expired in 2024 and was ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
2023 update
In his Predators I've Caught podcast, Chris mentioned how Watwood now works for maintenance in a condominium apartment. Chris reached out using a number he found for Watwood but has yet to hear back.
Trivia
Due to his calm demeanor and exercising his right to remain silent both with Chris Hansen and in his police interrogation with John Dudinskie , he is considered by many of the fandom one of the more uninteresting predators due to lack of quotables or memorable actions, only being featured because there were so few suspects in Bowling Green. Watwood's 2023 RSO mugshot
Community-written, from the To Catch a Predator Wiki. Not independently verified, and it does not establish charges or court outcomes.
Richard Watwood, To Catch a Predator Wiki contributors; see revision and history links. · CC-BY-SA
Media
Sources
- 1Police News: Man gets jail time following sex stingThe report identifies Richard Mark Watwood and the October 2007 Bowling Green sting. His federal sentence was 46 months followed by five years of supervised release, imposed August 22, 2008, for interstate travel with intent to engage in sex with a minor.
- 2Richard Mark Watwood on MegaphonePublic episode metadata matches the publisher RSS recording by title, release date and exact enclosure identifier. Reviewed publisher full name including middle names/nickname and case context against the existing profile.
- 3Richard Mark Watwood on SpotifyPublic episode metadata matches the publisher RSS recording by title, release date and exact enclosure identifier. Reviewed publisher full name including middle names/nickname and case context against the existing profile.
- 4Richard Mark Watwood official podcast descriptionThe November27,2023 named episode identifies Richard Mark Watwood in the Bowling Green sting and describes his arrival. It does not independently establish parole dates or current employment.
- 5Richard Watwood (community wiki)Attributed community article. Revision date describes the article update, not a court or sting event. Full infobox, narrative sections, references and assets are retained in the private archive.
- 6Richard Watwood: occupation informationThe profile infobox lists these occupations. Undated roles do not establish current employment.
- 7Richard Watwood: legal outcome (revision 15861)46 months in federal prison and seven years in Kentucky state prison; five years of postrelease supervision and lifetime registration were also reported.