LISBON - A former Lisbon teacher who pled guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material has learned his fate on Friday.

Judge Megan Bickerton sentenced 69-year-old James Watt to 25 years in prison on 30 counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor and 15 counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material.

With his plea prosecutors dismissed 30 counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor against Watt. 

Watt was charged after police seized 18 devices from him after receiving a "cyber tip" that Watt possessed child sexual abuse material in October of 2024. Investigators found tens of thousands of files which included teenagers having sexual relations with adults and children under 12 months old being raped by adults.

Watt was a former STEM teacher, as well as track and field coach at David Anderson Jr. Sr. High School in Lisbon for more than three decades.

The school's superintendent originally told 21 News there was no reasonable record to believe any students were victimized during his time at the school. However, new details in court revealed a 15-year-old former student of Watts is a victim in the case. The school declined to respond when asked about the new information saying "we simply do not have enough information or any knowledge of this claim to issue a statement."

The prosecution does not know how Watt got the image.

Judge Megan Bickerton scolded Watt for his crimes especially because of his position as a trusted teacher for children. 

“Everybody in this community who sent their child to Lisbon school district probably was blind sided, alarmed, concerned," Judge Bickerton said. "Are my children in any of those photographs?”

During the sentencing, Watt asked for no prison time saying he was a changed man after going to sex and alcohol addiction counseling every week since police brought the charges against him.

“I’ve had a life changing, moral reawakening," he said in court. “I realize how very wrong on so many levels it is for me to have the files that I had on my computer.”

Upon release, Watt will serve five years of probation and must register as a Tier 2 sex offender.