SAN FRANCISCO—According to witnesses’ testimonies and evidence in this case, a nude and oiled up 35-year-old Michael Watson, showed up all the time in the same boba shop, Qualitea, in the Castro District as two middle-schoolers and their fellow school friends. He came at the same time as the young children during after school hours at the same time each week. He stared at the young group while masturbating the whole time they were there. On Wednesday, January 15, 2025, Watson followed them from Qualitea to Dolores Park.
On Thursday, August 28, 2025, Watson was found guilty of three felony counts of indecent exposure with a prior conviction (PC314(1)), three counts of annoying or molesting a child (PC647(a)(1)) and one count of stalking (PC646.9(a)).
This case had been prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Tanisha Gooch with her paralegal team including Andrew Ong and Cassidy Schreiner and District Attorney Investigator Shan Johnson and IT support from Noeaeh Pinaire. Abigail Cordova was the victim advocate in this case, helping the victims during the trial. With help from the officers and investigators from the Special Victims’ Unit, the prosecuting team was able to build a strong and solid case against Watson.
As of now, Watson is in police custody. He faces up to five years in state penitentiary, and he must register as a sex offender for a minimum of ten years according to Penal Code section 290 for his crimes. He will be sentenced on Wednesday, October 29, 2025.
