Lane County man arrested in Arizona on rape, trafficking charges

A 24-year-old Lane County man was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona, after a nationwide warrant brought him into custody on accusations that he raped two women and forced them into prostitution in Eugene.

Colten Watson faces a long list of felony charges, including human trafficking, promoting and compelling prostitution, first-degree rape and sodomy. Authorities also accuse him of burglary, robbery and stealing a car from one of the victims. The alleged conduct stretched from September through December 2025, according to the case details, and prosecutors say the pattern involved more than a single assault.

The arrest ended a search that crossed state lines, underscoring how seriously Lane County authorities are treating the case and how far a suspect can travel before a warrant catches up with him. Watson was taken into custody in Arizona after being indicted in connection with the Eugene allegations.

The case also puts a local spotlight on how trafficking investigations are handled in Lane County. Eugene Police says its Special Investigations Unit handles human trafficking cases and often works with other local and federal agencies. That kind of cooperation is central to cases that can involve violence, coercion, property crimes and multiple victims, especially when a suspect leaves Oregon before being arrested.

Oregon has built part of its anti-trafficking response around that reality. The Oregon Department of Justice says its Trafficking Response & Intervention Program, created in spring 2015, helps counties and tribal communities develop the infrastructure to identify trafficking victims and strengthen victim-service programs. The state’s Department of Transportation says trafficking can happen in rural, suburban and urban areas, and traffickers can be friends, family members, romantic partners, employers or strangers.

The size of the problem remains significant. The National Human Trafficking Hotline says Oregon recorded 160 trafficking cases involving 227 victims in 2024. In Eugene, a sold-out panel on human trafficking awareness in Lane County earlier drew attention to how often the crime hides behind other offenses and how difficult it can be for victims to come forward.

For people who need help or suspect trafficking, the National Human Trafficking Hotline and Oregon’s trafficking response network remain key resources. In a case like Watson’s, investigators are now left to build the prosecution around allegations that tie sexual violence, coercion and theft together in one of the most serious criminal cases to reach Lane County this year.