Ian Watkins pleads guilty to child sex offences

Former Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins has pleaded guilty to two charges of attempting to rape a baby, Cardiff Crown Court heard today.

Watkins, 36, who has been in custody since last December, was described as a "determined and committed paedophile" by prosecutor Chris Clee QC.

It was a dramatic turn of events as Watkins changed his pleas on the day he was due to stand trial, pleading guilty to 13 of 24 separate sex offences, including two counts of attempting to rape a baby. His two female co-defendants, a 21-year-old and 24-year-old woman who cannot be named for legal reasons, also admitted to a range of sex abuse charges against their own children.

Watkins denied two counts of raping an 11-month-old baby but admitted two counts of attempting to rape the child - the baby of one of his co-accused. He also admitted possession of indecent photographs of a child and possessing extreme pornography depicting a person engaged in a sex act with an animal.

In his opening remarks, Mr Clee spoke of the two accused women.

"Both, by their pleas, admitted they have sexually abused their own children at the behest of Ian Watkins... They also made their children available to Ian Watkins to be sexually abused."

DCI Peter Doyle of South Wales Police was later moved to note, "This investigation has uncovered the most shocking and harrowing child abuse evidence I've ever seen."

Earlier this afternoon, the Crown Prosecution Service released the following statement via Catrin Evans, Head of the CPS Complex Casework Unit:

“The three defendants in this case have admitted very serious sexual offences committed against extremely young children, demonstrating sexual exploitation at its worst.

“A number of the victims are too young to be able to understand what has happened to them, yet the defendants exploited them for their own gratification.

“The prosecution case is based on robust evidence uncovered by the investigation team and the South Wales Police High Tech Crime Unit. The CPS team worked closely with the police to build a strong case and this has been a major factor in today’s guilty pleas.

“The CPS will not tolerate child abuse; tackling this unacceptable crime is a priority for all of us in the criminal justice system.

“We have recently issued new guidelines for prosecutors dealing with child abuse cases and are committed to supporting victims and bringing those who abuse and exploit children before the courts.”

Watkins and the two female co-defendants will all be sentenced on Wednesday December 18.