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Rock singer pleads guilty to child sex abuse charges (27 November 2013)
Date: 27/11/2013
The former lead singer of rock band the Lostprophets has pleaded guilty to the attempted rape of a one-year-old baby.
Ian Watkins, 36, appeared before Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday (26/11/13) to face a series of child sex offence charges. The charges include touching a child sexually – as well as inciting a follower of the band he sang with to sexually abuse her own child during a webcam conversation with him.
The court heard that the singer from Pontypridd in South Wales says he has no recollection of key video evidence relating to one of the child sexual abuse charges.
Watkins “furiously denied” child sex offences when he was charged in 2012 – but at the last minute on Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to a raft of child sex offences he had previously denied, including plotting to rape a one-year-old girl, two charges of the attempted rape and sexual assault involving a child under the age of 13, and also making and possessing child pornography.
The two charges of rape were changed to attempted baby rape. Watkins said that the actual offences did not take place and added he was on a “drug-fuelled binge” at the time of them.
He originally faced 24 separate charges related to sexual abuse – on Tuesday he decided to plead guilty to 11 of these. A further nine pleas remained unchanged.
All the offences occurred in hotels in London and South Wales.
Prosecuting barrister Chris Clee, QC, said that his client acknowledged that he was “a determined and committed paedophile”.
Watkins will be sentenced on 18 December.
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