Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Security Bailiff Steve Boyd prepares to lead former Lisbon teacher James W. Watt out after he was given a 25-year prison term for possessing numerous images of child porn. Watt apologized before being sentenced. (Photo by Mary Ann Greier)

LISBON –Retired Lisbon science teacher James W. Watt faced sentencing Friday for possessing multiple images of children engaged in sexual acts, learning he’s going to prison for 25 years.

“To these young individuals, I am truly sorry,” Watt said.

Watt, 69, Fairfield School Road, Columbiana, was referring to the children appearing in the images when he addressed the court, children who Columbiana County Assistant Prosecutor Steve Yacovone said are scarred for life.

They didn’t have the opportunity to come into a courtroom to tell their story because they’re unknown, he said.

In October 2025, Watt entered a guilty plea to 30 counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, a fourth-degree felony, and 15 counts of illegal use of minor or impaired person in a nudity-oriented material or performance, a fifth-degree felony. As part of the plea deal, another 30 counts of fourth-degree felony pandering obscenity will be dismissed.

Watt retired from the Lisbon school district in May 2024 after 43 years as an educator. He also served as a former track and cross country coach. The courtroom in Common Pleas Court was packed, with many family members and friends in attendance. They also wrote letters to the court on his behalf.

Yacovone said he looked at all the letters from people calling Watt a good man.

“What this defendant was doing behind closed doors shows a different side,” he said.

Based on a tip about Watt from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force regarding alleged images of child pornography, there was a search of his home on Oct. 22, 2024 and there were tens of thousands of images on 18 electronic devices. Not an amount from one incident or a few months — tens of thousands.

What Yacovone said was most alarming was that there were images of children under 12 months, infants, being raped by adults. Also alarming was the fact investigators discovered a nude image of a teen girl that was actually one of Watt’s former students, a 15-year-old, that they tracked down. She told investigators she didn’t give him the photo. How he got it was unknown.

Yacovone also said that there were images of Watt satisfying himself sexually while watching the child images.

“Shocked. I read that word multiple times in those letters,” Judge Megan Bickerton said regarding what Watt’s supporters wrote about him.

She recalled reading that he started counseling in February 2025. His indictment was issued in January 2025. One of his defense attorneys, Daniel Misiewicz, talked about his teaching career and how past students and parents wrote letters of support. He said the amount of support he had was unbelievable and those supporters were all fully aware of his situation.

“He takes full responsibility here. There’s no doubt that he’s remorseful and he takes responsibility,” Misiwicz said.

He requested community control for his client, who was also represented by defense attorneys Bruce Williams and Christine Falconer, saying if he was sent to the Eastern Ohio Correction Center, which is a community-based facility in Wintersville, he could continue the counseling he already started.

Watt’s longtime friend, Jim Hartford, a former chief assistant prosecutor in the county, also spoke on his behalf, describing a man who cared about his athletes and his students. He said he changed when his brother was killed in a car accident. He quit drinking. He said he also changed when he and his wife divorced.

Hartford said he wasn’t there to make excuses for what Watt did, just to give an explanation. He said a life of service of 69 years has to count for something.

“I’m here today imploring you to consider mercy for my friend, Jim Watt. His incarceration won’t help anyone,” Hartford said.

When Watt spoke, he apologized to everybody, including all his family members, his friends and the community he served.

“I apologize to my three lovely daughters and my grandchildren whose lives have forever changed due to my poor choices,” he said.

He said he had a life-changing moral reawakening.

Bickerton, however, denied the request for community control and followed the recommendation of the prosecutor, issuing the 25-year total sentence which included consecutive terms for the pandering charges. She said the seriousness of the crime was high and she believed there was a chance for recidivism.

“You didn’t stop because your moral compass righted itself. You stopped because you got caught,” she said.

She advised he may appeal, gave him zero days credit for any time served and designated him a Tier II sex offender, requiring him to register as a sex offender for at least 25 years after his release.

On a social media post after the sentencing, Columbiana County Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino thanked the Columbiana Police Department, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

He urged anyone with information regarding a crime to call the prosecutor’s office anonymous tip line at 330-420-1050.

mgreier@mojonews.com