Ian Watkins, the frontman for the group Lostprophets, has pleaded guilty to at least 13 charges of child sex offenses. These included two counts of attempted rape of an 11-month-old baby.
Watkins, 36, did not admit to actually raping the child, but did admit to attempted rape, according to The BBC. He had previously denied these charges until he was in Cardiff Crown Court today. He would have stood trial with two women. These women have not been identified. One had admitted to attempted rape, but denied other charges against her, including rape, child sexual assault and distributing indecent photographs of children. The other woman pleaded guilty to the charges against her, including conspiring to rape a child.
“Ian Watkins was the lead singer in a successful band called the Lostprophets,” Prosecuting barrister Chris Clee QC said. “He accepts he was a determined and committed paedophile.”
The charges Watkins pleaded guilty to included three counts of child sexual assault and six charges that involved taking and distributing indecent images of children. Another charge was for having a pornographic image of a sex act with an animal.
According to WalesOnline, the court also heard an April 2012 incident at a London hotel room when he attempted to rape a young child. He even filmed himself abusing the child while the mother was in the room. The site noted that there were other details that were far too graphic to publish.
The New York Daily News notes that the Lostprophets had been a very successful group, selling 3.5 million records worldwide. However, they quit in October when the allegations against Watkins first surfaced.
image: Wikimedia Commons
