Former youth skateboarding team leader convicted of sexually assaulting minors

A man has been convicted of sexually assaulting several children while he was running a youth skateboarding team, the District Attorney's Office announced on Thursday.

Rodney Watkins, 55, was arrested and charged in December of 2020 after two adults reported him to the Philadelphia Police Special Victims Unit and accused him of assaulting them as children in 2011 and 2012.

Léelo en español aquí.

After his arrest, five more adults came forward to report that they were also victims of Watkins while they were children.

During a pre-trial hearing that took place on Wednesday, Watkins pleaded no contest on six of the seven cases against him.

The seventh case was dropped by the Commonwealth because the alleged incidents took place outside of the statute of limitations, according to the DA's office.

Watkins has been convicted of:

• Three counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a child
• One count of aggravated indecent assault of a person less than 14 years of age
• Three counts of corruption of minors
• Two counts of unlawful contact with minors

"I want to thank Philadelphia Police SVU detectives and my office’s Family Violence and Sexual Assault Unit for seeking accountability for survivors, sometimes more than a decade after they were victimized as children,” DA Larry Krasner said.

Watkins was the founder of “Powerfulnailya,” a traveling youth skateboarding team.

The first two victims told police they met Watkins while they were kids at playgrounds where skateboarders met up in Philadelphia.

One victim said he was a member of a skateboarding team that “Powerfulnailya” sponsored while the second said he was invited to travel with the team and was offered meals and gifts from Watkins. 

The victims said they interacted with Watkins at several locations, including POPS Skatepark at Trenton and Hazard streets, Whitehall Skatepark at Torresdale Avenue and Wakeling Street and Paine’s Park near the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Watkins also traveled with the teams to skateboarding competitions in New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Maine, investigators said.

Watkins is scheduled to be sentenced on May 3, 2024, according to the DA's office.