Reporting the Truth.
Restoring the Church.
By Daniel Silliman
James Watford, a former Pentecostal bishop and pastor of New Rountree Temple of Praise in Ahoskie, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a boy about 30 years ago. (Photo courtesy of Facebook)
A 78-year-old former Pentecostal bishop in North Carolina pleaded guilty on July 20 to three felony charges of forcible sex and indecent liberties with a child.
In exchange, prosecutors agreed to reduce James Clifton Watford’s sentence from a possible 152 years in prison to 33 years, court records show. The state also said that the time could be served on probation.
“Do you now plead guilty?” Superior Court Judge Craig Croom asked Watford, former pastor of New Rountree Temple of Praise, Church of God in Christ, “Home of Fresh Start,” in Ahoskie, North Carolina.
“Yes,” Watford said.
“Are you in fact guilty?”
Senior Bishop James Watford, former pastor of New Rountree Temple of Praise in Ahoskie, North Carolina. (Photo courtesy of Facebook)
“Yes.”
The crimes occurred about 30 years ago, according to the Bertie County sheriff’s office investigation. Watford, in his 40s at the time, hurt a boy between the ages of 13 and 15, starting in December 1995 and continuing until December 1997.
The victim is identified in court documents only as “T.T.” Details of the crimes were not made public.
The sheriff’s office first learned of the allegations in June 2025. There is no statute of limitations on the sexual abuse of children in North Carolina. Six months later, Watford was arrested and charged.
Evidence presented to a grand jury showed that Watford “willfully and feloniously did engage in a sexual act with T.T.” He was also accused of kidnapping the boy to do things that the state deemed “immoral, improper and indecent.” Jurors agreed there was enough evidence to prosecute.
The state dropped the kidnapping charge as part of the plea deal. Several other charges were dropped or consolidated as well.
Watford, who lives in Powellsville, a town of less than 200 people located 125 miles east of Raleigh, will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
The minister stepped down from leadership in the Church of God in Christ when he was arrested last year. According to local newspaper reports from the 1980s and ’90s, he grew up in the area, the eldest son in a family of 10 children. His father, James B. Watford, was also a minister in the Church of God in Christ.
James C. Watford graduated from Bertie High School in 1966 and started working as pastor at New Rountree Temple of Praise in 1982. He got married and raised his own children in the small Pentecostal church.
Watford also ran a 1,000-watt AM radio station broadcasting Black gospel music from Ahoskie for a few years in the late 1990s.
Watford was promoted to bishop in 2013. Ten years later, the small congregation celebrated his 75th birthday with a Facebook post calling him “the best pastor this side of heaven.”
The church has not made any public statement about the former bishop’s guilty plea.
A Facebook post from the church, however, shared Matthew 7:21 under the headline, “Breaking News.” The verse says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Daniel Silliman is senior reporter/editor at The Roys Report. He began his two decades in journalism covering crime in Atlanta and has since led major investigations into abuse and misconduct in Christian contexts. Daniel and his wife live in Johnson City, Tennessee.
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