Predator Caught After 31 Years on the Run
A man who attacked and choked a woman in her own bed in Crawley has finally been jailed—more than three decades after the horror.
Chilling Attack in 1990
Joseph Watts, then 44, assaulted a woman he knew on January 13, 1990. After drinking together, Watts started rambling about the occult. The victim went to bed but woke to find him kneeling at the foot of it. Watts suddenly leapt on her, choking and threatening to kill her.
“She thought she was going to die,” prosecutor Thomas Acworth told Lewes Crown Court.
The shocking attack left the victim with serious neck injuries and lasting post-traumatic stress.
Watts Vanishes, Dodges Justice for Decades
Watts was arrested and charged but skipped bail and vanished from Sussex. He used fake names and dodged police for 31 years. Authorities scoured his known addresses and issued appeals. Nothing worked—until a Sussex Police Specialist Enforcement Unit officer spotted a new lead earlier this year.
On June 17, 2022, Watts was finally arrested in Cam, Gloucestershire.
Justice at Last — Four Years Behind Bars
Investigator Lauren Mann dove into the dusty case files from 1990 and rebuilt the prosecution. Watts, now 76, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.
Judge Christine Laing KQ slammed Watts’ decades of evasion, saying his “long disappearance” delayed justice and denied the victim closure.
Watts was jailed for four years and one month.
“This was a complex case to bring together, but with new evidence and the victim’s support, justice was served,” said Investigator Mann.
She added, “The case proves police never give up chasing dangerous offenders.”
