Watkins sentenced to over 8 years for attempted molestation

Arizona Daily Sun - 11/22/2018

Nov. 21--Jesse Watkins III, 70, was sentenced to eight years and six months for an attempted molestation that took place earlier this year.

The victim's elder sister read a statement in front of Watkins about what his actions did to her younger sister and family. She explained that she's known Watkins since she was 13 years old and is now an adult.

"You are exactly where you need to be, if not somewhere worse," she said. "She will have to live with this for the rest of her life, and if it was up to me, you'd be in jail for the rest of yours."

A statement from the victim was read to the court. In it, the victim detailed how she had contemplated harming herself, and how it has changed her personal relationships.

"I feel worthless," the victim's letter said. "I told one of my very close guy friends and it changed everything between us. He told me that he is embarrassed to be seen with me in public."

During sentencing, Watkins expressed his remorse for his actions with the family he had grown close to before his actions. He directly noted the damage he caused to the victim.

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"She's such a beautiful soul and she did not deserve what I did to her," Watkins said.

Watkins, from Glendale, went out of his way to get close to the victim, and eventually spent nights at the family home where the alleged touching took place. The charged molestation attempts took place on two separate occasions within the month of January and the victim's spring break this year.

On one occasion Watkins allegedly touched the victim in the same room as the victim's sleeping sibling, according to the state documents.

State prosecutor Ammon Barker was standing in for the prosecutor assigned to the case, Michael Tunink, on Tuesday. Barker re-emphasized how severely Watkins' actions had harmed the family and victim.

Judge Mark Moran characterized his decision in division three as one of balance, weighing a life where Watkins had given his time and money to others against how he committed actions that have deeply wounded a family. Watkins' defense attorney Bruce Griffen believed the judge's ruling was fair.

"And what the judge said is, 'a life well lived is good for something,' but when you do something so bad, you saw how much it helped him -- not much," Griffen said.