Editor's note: Some details of this article are graphic in nature.
A 68-year-old has been indicted on multiple charges of rape spanning the last 25 years, Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich announced Wednesday.
Pillich said Smiley Watts has been charged with raping three women and attempting to rape a fourth woman.
She said they found Watts because a woman came forward in January 2025 after being assaulted. The woman immediately reported the case, leading to a months-long investigation in Watts.
Hear from one of CPD's detectives in the video below:
The Cincinnati Police Department found that Watts was linked to three other cases in 2000, 2015 and 2019, Pillich said. She said Watts preyed on women he met on the street or in treatment facilities, and he was connected to the cases via DNA evidence and database research.
One of the cases Watts is tied to occurred 25 years ago on May 19, 2000, Pillich said. Watts met a woman he had previously known at her home, he punched her and then raped her, she said. At the time, Watts was 43 years old and the woman was 28.
The second case Watts is tied to occurred on March 21, 2015. Watts went to the home of a woman he knew, placed her in a chokehold and then attempted to rape her. The woman was 46 years old at the time of the attempted rape, while Watts was 56.
The third case, which occurred on Feb. 16, 2019, involved a woman Watts met in downtown Cincinnati, Pillich said. He brought the then-28-year-old woman back to his home, and once there, pinned her hands down and raped her "despite her saying no multiple times," Pillich said. Pillich said another man, James Moore, was also present, and Moore raped the woman following Watts. Moore has also been indicted on one count of rape.
In the most recent case on Jan. 3, Watts raped a 36-year-old woman he met at a Cincinnati rehabilitation center, Pillich said. The woman invited Watts to her home while he said he was waiting for a ride. Once inside her house, Watts shoved her on a bed, restrained her and threatened her with a gun before raping her, Pillich said.
After CPD's investigation, Watts was arrested on May 21, Pillich said. He is currently being held at the Hamilton County Justice Center on a $250,000 bond. Pillich said Watts' four charges will carry a repeat violent offender specification, which carries a possible life sentence in prison.
Detectives also believed there could be more cases involving Watts or Moore, and they are urging any women to come forward with information about either men.
"These are heinous crimes women have had to live with all these years," Pillich said. "In one case, 25 years has passed. But the law has finally caught up with these men."
If you have any information about Watts or Moore, you can call Crimestoppers at 513-352-3040 or CPD at 513-352-3542.
