A 22-year old man who is accused of sexually assaulting a six-month old infant and also recording the act has finally been arrested in San Marcos, Texas. The search for the man accused of this repulsive act involved various law enforcement agencies. Apart from the police, US Marshal Service also played a crucial role in cornering him.
Brice Gage Watkins was charged with distribution of child pornography and committing lewd acts with children. The accused is a resident of Enid, Oklahoma and went missing after police started searching for him. The arrest warrant for him denied bail. The charges were filed on August 14.
He was finally arrested not in his home state but in Texas after the help of Marshals was sought. The official statement from Oklahoma City Police Department (OKPD) read: "Our investigators just learned that fugitive Brice Watkins was taken into custody in San Marcos, Texas."
Discovery of crime
The misdeeds of Watkins came to light after he sent the video of himself molesting the baby to two women. One of them contacted the local police in Norman, Oklahoma, to inform the police of the video and also told them that she recognizes the child as well as the home where the beastly act was being committed. This lady was a friend of the little child's mother.
The house where the incident occurred is in Enid. The local police department too got into the act as they were contacted by the other lady who had received the video. She even identified the culprit.
Catching the criminal
For some time, the search for the accused didn't yield any results. In fact, the police initially arrested a homeless man who seemed to fit the description of Watkins, only to realize that it was not him. Eventually, the police in Oklahoma got US Marshal Service on board and the suspect was found in Texas and apprehended.
"Members of the US Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force received info that he was possibly hiding out at a residence in San Marcos and were able to take him into custody this afternoon... Great work by the Marshals and all other investigators involved with this case!" the OKPD's statement further read. The victim is safe now and turned one year old in June.
