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| Lostprophets' Ian Watkins guilty of child sex offences | Lostprophets' Ian Watkins guilty of child sex offences |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ian Watkins, singer of Welsh rock band Lostprophets, has pleaded guilty to a series of "depraved" child sex offences including attempted rape of a baby. | |
| He had previously "furiously denied" the allegations. | He had previously "furiously denied" the allegations. |
| The 36-year-old from Pontypridd had been due to stand trial at Cardiff Crown Court alongside two women. | The 36-year-old from Pontypridd had been due to stand trial at Cardiff Crown Court alongside two women. |
| Watkins pleaded guilty to attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 but not guilty to rape. This was accepted by the prosecution. | Watkins pleaded guilty to attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 but not guilty to rape. This was accepted by the prosecution. |
| Prosecuting barrister Chris Clee QC told the court: "Ian Watkins was the lead singer in a successful band called the Lostprophets. | |
| "He accepts he was a determined and committed paedophile." | |
| Watkins also admitted three counts of sexual assault involving children and six involving taking, making possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal. | |
| The evidence against the defendant came from computers laptops and mobile phones. | |
| The court also heard that he filmed and kept the episodes of abuse - which took place in various hotels in London and south Wales - that were recovered by police. | |
| Referring to the women standing alongside Watkins in the dock, Mr Clee said: "Both women sexually abused their own children and made them available to Watkins for him to abuse." | |
| The court was told how the abuse of the children by all parties was also evident in text messages. | |
| Watkins sent a text to one of the women saying: "If you belong to me, so does your baby." | |
| In another exchange with a second woman, she messaged Watkins images of the her child saying: "She needs to know Mummy and daddy don't love her." | |
| Watkins also planned to "teach" the babies how to take drugs, the hearing was told. | |
| One defendant, Woman A, admitted the attempted rape of a baby after denying rape and two of sexual assault as well as taking and distributing an indecent photograph of a child. | |
| Woman B pleaded guilty to conspiring to rape a child, three sexual assault charges and four charges of taking, possessing or distributing indecent images. | |
| After hearing legal argument from barristers, Mr Justice Royce called the jury into court and told them: "There will not be a trial in this case. The defendants have all pleaded guilty to nearly all the charges against them. The prosecution does not seek a trial in these circumstances. | |
| "You have been saved from having to watch extremely graphic and distressing material." |