CHESAPEAKE, Va. – Virginia police caught a woman naked with a 15-year-old boy who was reported missing. She was later charged with multiple counts of indecency involving the teen and his twin brother, according to reports.
In July, officers came to the Chesapeake, Va. home of Ashleigh Watts, 37, looking for the missing teen. She asked them to wait outside while she dressed and let her dogs out.
“Officers advised several minutes later that Watts returned to the door with her two dogs still in the residence, allowing them to enter,” Law & Crime reported, citing court records.
“As officers removed the mattress in an upstairs bedroom, they were able to see a white male juvenile hiding in a small space that was only wearing boxer briefs.
“When asked by officers if he was [the runaway boy], he advised he was and presented his Learner’s Permit.”
Although Watts was initially charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, further investigation revealed sex-related crimes. She was taken into custody last week and the charges were subsequently upgraded to include three felony counts of indecency with a minor for the disturbing relationships she is accused of maintaining with the teenagers.
The twins boys lived across the street and were friends with Watts’ son, who was about the same age, court documents revealed.
The woman had been sexually preying on them for more than a year before she was caught, the New York Post reported.
Police first launched an investigation on the woman when they received an anonymous tip in February that she was having sex with the boys.
About the same time, Watts’ husband came home early one morning around 2 a.m. to find his wife topless on their couch with one of the teenage boys, who was “pretending to be asleep,” he would later acknowledge to investigators.
The woman’s husband reportedly found her topless in their home with one of the boys. (Ashleigh Watts / Facebook)
The boy was first questioned by his parents. He claimed that he simply went to the Watts’ home to smoke weed and fell asleep on the couch.
The families lived across the street from one another and were “very close friends.” They reportedly had an “open-door policy” between their homes.
As a result, the twin boys were frequently at Watts’ home. Their parents incorrectly assumed the teens were spending time with Watts’ son.
However, investigators learned that Watts was emotionally and sexually manipulating the teenagers, according to court documents. One of the boys actually confided the ongoing sexual activity to another neighbor.
“[The neighbor] told him that [redacted] confided in her that he has been having sex with Ms. Watts since June 2022,” police wrote in a probable cause affidavit.
“[Redacted] told her that he and Ms. Watts were in love and when he turned seventeen (17) years old, she was going to divorce her husband and they were going to get married.”
Once the 13-month-long trysts were exposed, the teen ran away from home and was found hiding in Watts’ bedroom three weeks later on July 26, authorities said, according to WAVY News.
The teen boys were frequently at Watts’ home and were similar in age to her son. (Ashleigh Watts / Facebook)
His brother told investigators that Watts would invite him over to smoke pot and would touch him inappropriately, even though he asked her to stop. She also gave the teen her under garments.
Once the investigation revealed the sordid details, the parents of the twin boy and Watts’ husband filed protective orders against her.
Court documents filed by her betrayed spouse describe a prepaid cell phone, marijuana, and large amounts of cash, that he found following her arrest.
If convicted on all charges, Watts has a prison exposure of up to 30 years. She is scheduled to appear in court in October.
