Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Hot Trends: Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins pleads guilty to child sex offenses



Ian Gavan/Getty Images

Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins is on trial for several child sex offense charges - including attempted rape of a baby and sexual abuse of children under the age of 13.

Lostprophets lead singer Ian Watkins pleaded guilty on Tuesday to at least 13 child sexual assault offenses - including two counts of attempting to rape a baby.

The singer denied charges that he raped the 11-month-old child, but admitted to the two counts of attempted rape.

Watkins, 36, also admitted to sexually assaulting at least one child under the age of 13, aiding and abetting a female unnamed co-defendant to sexually assaulting a child under age 13, and conspiring to rape a child under the age of 13, Wales Online reported.

The musician was brandished a pedophile by a judge at the Cardiff Crown court in Wales during the hearing.



Watkins reportedly recorded the attempted rape of a very young child in a hotel room in London in April 2012, according to the news site.

He was said to have filmed himself abusing the child along with the child's mother. The assumed mother, along with another unnamed woman, both admitted to sex abuse charges against children.

All three defendants face a total of 32 charges, the UK's Daily Star reported. RELATED: BRITISH ROCK GROUP LOSTPROPHETS DISBANDS AMID CHARGES OF SEX OFFENSES AGAINST CHILDREN ON LEAD SINGER



Watkins also pleaded guilty to possessing at least one indecent photograph of a child between August and December of 2012, according to the Wales Online report. He pleaded guilty to two counts of taking indecent photographs of children dating back to 2007 and 2008. He has also been accused of distributing indecent images of children.

In June the singer apparently denied all charges against him at a plea hearing.

Some of the details of Watkins' crimes recounted in court were too graphic to be published, Wales Online reports.

Lostprophets, the rock band formed in 1997, sold more than 3.5 million records before announcing their split in October in the wake of Watkins' shocking allegations.



"After nearly a year of coming to terms with our heartache, we finally feel ready to announce publicly what we have thought privately for some time," the band said in a statement.

"We can no longer continue making or performing music as Lostprophets. Your love and support over the past 15 years has been tremendous, and we'll be forever grateful for all you've given us."

Watkins is under the care of a psychiatrist, his lawyer said, according to BBC News.

A judge also told the jury that there would be "no trial" against the singer, per BBC News, adding that they have been spared from having to watch "extremely graphic and distressing material."

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