North Logan man sentenced to prison for sexually abusing teenager

Michael L. Watts, 51, arrested and charged with five counts of sodomy, all first-degree felonies.

LOGAN — A 51-year-old North Logan man who was found guilty of sexually abusing a teenage boy has been sentenced to prison.

Michael L. Watts cried as he appeared in 1st District Court Tuesday morning. He kept his head bowed as Judge Kevin Allen sentenced him to three terms of five-years-to-life in the Utah State Prison. The terms will run concurrently.

Before being sentenced, Watts told the court he was sorry. He said seven years ago he was in a dark place and hurt his family, friends and the victim. He asked the judge not to send him to prison, saying he didn’t feel like he would be a threat to anyone again.

Judge Kevin Allen refused to place Watts on probation, saying that what he had done would affect the victim for the rest of his life. He said if he did not come to terms with his actions, he would be in prison forever.

In February, a jury found Watts guilty on three of five charges of forcible sodomy, all first-degree felonies. The verdict was reached after five days of testimony that included the victim describing how Watts molested him on multiple occasions and later coerced him to have oral sex.

Watts was originally arrested in September 2010 after the victim’s mother found texts between the victim and a friend, describing how Watts sexually abused him.

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