Murphy, NC— On January 07^th, 2012 John Joseph Watts, a 67 year old Murphy North Carolina man, was arrested on eight counts of First Degree Sexual Offense on a Minor. 

 Investigators became aware of allegations involving John Watts from a complaint that was filed on Thursday January 05^th, 2012 with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division. Working in conjunction with the H.A.V.E.N. Child Advocacy Center in Cherokee County North Carolina, Investigators Holland and Chapman were able to determine that there were at least two victims involved making allegations against Watts.

 As the investigation progressed enough information was gathered to enable the Investigators to present the case to the North Carolina Magistrates Office and obtain warrants for the arrest of Watts. From information presented during the investigation it appeared that the sexual abuse had been ongoing for a period of about one year.

 John Joseph Watts is currently incarcerated in the Cherokee County Detention Center on a $100,000.00 secure bond. Watts is scheduled to appear in Cherokee County District Court later this month.

 2011 may be history now but according to Sheriff Davis the Clay County Sheriff’s Office has some unfinished business before 2011 goes in the books.  Investigators are still actively working on cases reported in 2011 and expect to continue those efforts until the cases are solved or leads have run out.  Sheriff Davis said this is a normal transition from year to year and we want to reassure everyone that is counting on some kind of closure to their case that they will continue to hear from us until that time comes.

Sheriff Davis said the number of reports taken by deputies in 2011 exceeded the 2010 numbers by nearly 400.  While this possibly reflects an increase in criminal activity within Clay County, Sheriff Davis wants to point out the increase in these numbers reflects some of the new policies implemented during his first year in office.  In an effort to better meet state reporting requirements, we have been focusing on the coding of our reports.  Sheriff Davis said, “one of the things I noticed when I got here was how many calls the deputies were answering that at first glance didn’t appear to require a report”.  When we really took a closer look at some of these incidents it became apparent that we needed to be documenting a lot more of these calls.  The state looks at our reports and compiles the data for official crime statistics.  I want an accurate representation of the work this department is doing.  Often times these stats directly affect counties eligibility for grants and equipment incentives through state and federal sources.  I want to insure Clay County gets their fair share of that support when the time comes”.

 In other areas at the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Davis is expecting to continue moving forward with upgrading policies that focus on providing a more efficient and professional service to the community.  We are continuously evaluating our various processes and procedures to insure our resources and efforts are being used to their maximum potential.   We anticipate that 2012 will see a much more focused effort on areas such as drugs and property crimes.  Now that we have gotten some of our bigger policy issues addressed we can hopefully begin a more proactive campaign of crime prevention.  In the upcoming future I expect to see some of the new crime prevention programs we have been working on to come on line.  These are new and innovative strategies that this department, to my knowledge, has not used in the past.  Sheriff Davis will be highlighting these programs in future press releases as they are implemented. 

Todd C. Wingate, Investigator

Clay County Sheriff's Office

295 Courthouse Dr.

PO Box 720

Hayesville, NC 28904

Office; (828) 389-6354

 Murphy, NC— On January 07^th, 2012 John Joseph Watts, a 67 year old Murphy North Carolina man, was arrested on eight counts of First Degree Sexual Offense on a Minor. 

 Investigators became aware of allegations involving John Watts from a complaint that was filed on Thursday January 05^th, 2012 with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division. Working in conjunction with the H.A.V.E.N. Child Advocacy Center in Cherokee County North Carolina, Investigators Holland and Chapman were able to determine that there were at least two victims involved making allegations against Watts.

 As the investigation progressed enough information was gathered to enable the Investigators to present the case to the North Carolina Magistrates Office and obtain warrants for the arrest of Watts. From information presented during the investigation it appeared that the sexual abuse had been ongoing for a period of about one year.

 John Joseph Watts is currently incarcerated in the Cherokee County Detention Center on a $100,000.00 secure bond. Watts is scheduled to appear in Cherokee County District Court later this month.

 2011 may be history now but according to Sheriff Davis the Clay County Sheriff’s Office has some unfinished business before 2011 goes in the books.  Investigators are still actively working on cases reported in 2011 and expect to continue those efforts until the cases are solved or leads have run out.  Sheriff Davis said this is a normal transition from year to year and we want to reassure everyone that is counting on some kind of closure to their case that they will continue to hear from us until that time comes.

Sheriff Davis said the number of reports taken by deputies in 2011 exceeded the 2010 numbers by nearly 400.  While this possibly reflects an increase in criminal activity within Clay County, Sheriff Davis wants to point out the increase in these numbers reflects some of the new policies implemented during his first year in office.  In an effort to better meet state reporting requirements, we have been focusing on the coding of our reports.  Sheriff Davis said, “one of the things I noticed when I got here was how many calls the deputies were answering that at first glance didn’t appear to require a report”.  When we really took a closer look at some of these incidents it became apparent that we needed to be documenting a lot more of these calls.  The state looks at our reports and compiles the data for official crime statistics.  I want an accurate representation of the work this department is doing.  Often times these stats directly affect counties eligibility for grants and equipment incentives through state and federal sources.  I want to insure Clay County gets their fair share of that support when the time comes”.

 In other areas at the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Davis is expecting to continue moving forward with upgrading policies that focus on providing a more efficient and professional service to the community.  We are continuously evaluating our various processes and procedures to insure our resources and efforts are being used to their maximum potential.   We anticipate that 2012 will see a much more focused effort on areas such as drugs and property crimes.  Now that we have gotten some of our bigger policy issues addressed we can hopefully begin a more proactive campaign of crime prevention.  In the upcoming future I expect to see some of the new crime prevention programs we have been working on to come on line.  These are new and innovative strategies that this department, to my knowledge, has not used in the past.  Sheriff Davis will be highlighting these programs in future press releases as they are implemented. 

Todd C. Wingate, Investigator

Clay County Sheriff's Office

295 Courthouse Dr.

PO Box 720

Hayesville, NC 28904

Office; (828) 389-6354