A Springfield man who pleaded guilty to pointing a gun at a woman's face while he was awaiting trial for statutory sodomy has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Tigger C. Watson, 26, pleaded guilty on May 17 to the unclassified felony of statutory sodomy and the class E felony of unlawful use of a weapon for separate incidents involving different victims.
Greene County Circuit Judge Jerry Harmison sentenced Watson to 12 years for the sodomy charge and four years for the weapon charge, with the sentences to be served concurrently.
Watson was charged in May of 2020 of statutory sodomy and first-degree child molestation. The child molestation charge was later dropped as part of a plea agreement.
According to the charging documents, the victim was younger than 12 when she told investigators that Watson abused her on two occasions.
The victim, who was interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center in Springfield, disclosed that Watson touched her genitals through her clothing. In another incident, the victim said Watson told her they would be playing a game, blindfolded her and forced her to perform a sex act, which caused her to vomit.
Watson initially denied the girl’s allegations, but then told police he drank alcohol to the point of blacking out one night and woke up with a feeling like he’d done something to the girl.
According to online court records, Watson was granted bond and released from jail in March of 2021. He had pleaded not guilty in the statutory sodomy case and was scheduled to have a trial in December of 2022. The incident involving the gun happened on Nov. 13, 2022.
According to the probable cause statement for the 2022 case, Watson got into an argument with his girlfriend at the time over her moving stereo speakers. The victim told police that Watson pushed her and hurt her neck. The victim said she slapped Watson and he responded by pointing a 9mm handgun at her face.
Watson is in the Greene County jail, awaiting transportation to a Missouri Department of Corrections prison.
