To Catch A Predator Update: Bowling Green

 

Richard Mark Watwood was never able to make bail on the charges he faced in October 2007 and remained in jail. He was convicted of federal charges and state charges, as he was from Tennessee. He was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison and 7 years in a Kentucky State Penitentiary. In 2010, he lost a lawsuit against the FBP. He was released in 2019, and he will spend 5 years on probation and register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Whether he made it to the bathroom is unknown.

Dustin McPhetridge was found in possession of child pornography when his home was searched. He was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for the solicitation charges, entirely not enough for a man who crossed state lines to have a threesome with a girl and her 8-year-old sister. 2 years later, he received 8 years for the child porn charges, making his sentence 10 years by default. He was released in 2015. In 2020, he was rearrested for failure to make progress in his sex offender counseling, and he faces up to 3 years in prison.

James Travis Fowler was already a sex offender when he was arrested in Bowling Green in 2007. He was unable to make bail and received 57 months in federal prison and 7 years in the state penitentiary, with credit for the 2 years he had served by 2009. He was released in 2013. In 2014, he was arrested for attending a function at an elementary school, and his punishment in the case is unknown.

John Wesley Elliott, despite possessing and exposing a minor to child pornography and then showing up to rape her, received only 7 years in prison and 20 years sex offender probation as part of a plea he entered in 2008, probably because he did not cross state lines. If he reoffends, he could be exiled to an island.

Gary C. Armstrong did not show up to the Bowling Green sting, but he was arrested after having sexual chats with 2 decoys. He was sentenced in 2010 to 3 years house arrest, 1 year work release, 4 years probation, and 10 years of sex offender registration in his home state of Indiana. He is eligible to complete his sentence this year, but as of yet is on the registry. Not the harshest sentence, but certainly a tough decade for Mr. Armstrong.

Michael Patterson gained notoriety as the failed police officer who was tased when he resisted arrest and officers feared he had a gun. He was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison and 10 years of supervised release. He filed a lawsuit against NBC (which he lost) in 2011, and was released in 2012. He must register as a sex offender for 25 years.

Benjamin Wilmes, despite being in a wheelchair in Indiana, solicited a minor for sex. He took a plea bargain in a federal court and was sentenced to 8 months electronic monitoring followed by 5 years probation and 20 years registration as a sex offender..

Jeremy Todd West suffered from thyroid cancer when he was arrested in 2007. He pled guilty in 2008 and received 46 months in federal prison and 7 years in state prison. He was transferred in 2011, and his parole was denied in August 2013. In 2015, he was arrested for trying to assault an overseer and lost his prison job. He was placed into solitary confinement for several days. He filed a lawsuit to receive his stolen property, which was dismissed in August 2017. In June 2017, he was released and will spend the rest of his life as a registered sex offender.

Lorne Armstrong pled guilty to federal and state charges after showing up on his birthday and received 5- and 7-year sentences respectively. He received credit for the time he had spent in jail since his arrest, and he was released in November 2012 and placed on lifetime parole and sex offender registration. He was catfished a number of times and led into months-long relationships that were posted online. He also had people show up to his trailer in Maine and lost several of the odd jobs he has been forced to work. He wrote a novel that has received a 2-star rating thanks to TCAP fan reviews, and his attempt to make a YouTube channel also resulted in torment. In 2019, he was rearrested for RSO violation and spent 6 months in prison.