Victims sought in series of sex crimes

Suspect attacked at least 13 women, authorities say, making contact through Instagram

Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators are asking the public's help to identify any additional victims of a man accused of targeting more than a dozen people in a series of sexual assaults, extortion attempts and threats that occurred across the Southland over nearly two years.

The suspect, Michael Watson Jr., 21, was arrested Nov. 8 in the Antelope Valley, according to the Sheriff's Department.

The investigation began in February 2021 when deputies responded to a reported rape in the 17000 block of Colima Road in the Hacienda Heights area. According to investigators, Watson allegedly befriended two women on Instagram and was invited to their home, where he is accused of raping one and stealing their cellphones.

After fleeing, Watson allegedly contacted one of the victims again over social media and issued a series of threats, including extorting money from her by threatening to post nude images online that he had accessed on one of the stolen cellphones, sheriff's officials said.

DNA evidence linked Watson to similar reported attacks in Los Angeles, Hollywood, East Los Angeles and Inglewood, according to the Sheriff's Department. Investigators said they eventually linked the suspect to 12 attacks involving 13 female victims — including four minors. In each case, the suspect would initiate contact with the victim over Instagram and lure them to places where they were assaulted, sheriff's officials said.

Watson was charged by the district attorney in late September with a series of counts, including sexual assault of a child under 14, forc

ible rape, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted extortion and grand theft, sheriff's officials said. He remains jailed in lieu of $1.8 million bail, they said.

Detectives asked anyone with information about the case to contact them at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Special Victims Bureau at 877-7105273. Anonymous tips can be made at 800-222-8477.