GUILTY UK - Ian Watkins for sex abuse, child 🤬🤬🤬🤬, Pontypridd, Wales, 2012

[LadyL]

So this went on for years, and not one of the other band members, managers, tour staff, recording staff etc. etc. who worked and toured with him knew anything was amiss?

Not buying it. Nope.

unless they're abusers themselves, why would they ever suspect it?

many people don't even realize this kind of depravity exists

 

[LadyL]

I think that the two victims in this case were so young that hopefully they will never remember that this horrible thing happened to them ... I think I read that the boy was 11 months and the girl was also a baby

however, there are rumours of many other older victims and I'm afraid for them - because not only has he not been charged with any other crimes but the mothers of those children have not been caught and those kids will likely never get the help they might need to heal

 

[21merc7]

There are more links about this in the trials thread. I can tell you from experience in Federal cases as such that it is all much worse than what is allowed in media, much less media in a country that still keeps it polite. JMO.

link to trial thread:

UK - Lostprophets Singer Ian Watkins Infant Rape Trial 25th November - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

 

[Reader]

There are more links about this in the trials thread. I can tell you from experience in Federal cases as such that it is all much worse than what is allowed in media, much less media in a country that still keeps it polite. JMO.

link to trial thread:

UK - Lostprophets Singer Ian Watkins Infant Rape Trial 25th November - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

Thanks! I did make a request that the 2 threads be merged.

 

[Reader]

Lostprophets' Ian Watkins abuse victims urged to come forward

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25108691

......"Our investigation will determine whether or not South Wales Police failed to take appropriate and timely action in relation to information they were in receipt of in advance of Mr Watkins subsequent arrest," he said.

"We are aware of four forces having provided South Wales Police with information but, as criminal proceedings are active, it would be inappropriate to publish further information at this time."

Shortly after evidence of Watkins "depraved" behaviour was made public, rumours began circulate on social media websites about the extent of his abuse and possible other victims.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle described it as "the most shocking case I have ever seen". .........

Watkins sent a text to one of the women saying: "If you belong to me, so does your baby."

One of the women, in an exchange involving the other, sent Watkins a message along with an image of her child to the effect that her child needed to know she was not loved.

Watkins also planned to "teach" the babies how to take drugs, the hearing was told........

I did read something yesterday where the band said he started isolating himself from them several years ago. They knew about 'groupies' but stated they did not know about the children. I'll try to find that link again.

 

[Reader]

Lostprophets' Ian Watkins: Descent from 'good guy' to depravity

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25120687

Paedophile and Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins separated himself from the rest of his band in an attempt to hide his depravity, it has been claimed.

Music journalist Gavin Allen said Watkins stayed in separate hotels and travelled in different cars to the rest of the group while on tour......

Mr Allen said he changed from a "good guy" to "detached" around 2007.....

"In hindsight it looks like he was hiding his behaviour from the rest of the band."

In September 2012, fans of the popular rock band were shocked as it emerged that Watkins had been arrested following a drugs raid on his terrace house in Pontypridd. Weeks later, it emerged, they had found child sex abuse images and videos on his computer hard drive.

It was then that the extent of his depravity began to emerge.

He "furiously denied" any wrongdoing and maintained not guilty pleas as he arrived at Cardiff Crown Court to stand trial this week alongside two women, whose babies he abused.

Then in a dramatic change at the 11th hour, he changed his pleas to guilty to all but one of the 24 charges he faced. He is due to be sentenced next month.

As police continue the investigation into the possibility of other victims, Ian Watkins has become a vilified figure around the world. ........

Mr Allen continued to interview the band through its rise to stardom but in 2007, when he interviewed them for the final time, there was a marked shift in Watkins' behaviour.

He was not the unaffected rock singer Mr Allen had met years previously.

"There had definitely been a separation within the band," he said.

"When I interviewed the group they turned up early without Watkins and we started the interview without him.

"He only arrived about halfway through the interview and there was definite tension there.

"It struck me then there was a difference."

He said they used to be a group of friends but in 2007 Watkins had been "detached".

"When I saw his mug shots the change in him is startling," Mr Allen said......

"I know the band to say hi to and I'm still in touch with some of them. We have mutual friends. They are a good bunch of lads. If they had any suspicions they would have sounded the alarm about it."......

The article I read before was directly from the rest of the band but can't find it right now.

 

[Elainera]

Lostprophets' Ian Watkins: Descent from 'good guy' to depravity

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25120687

snipped for space

"I know the band to say hi to and I'm still in touch with some of them. We have mutual friends. They are a good bunch of lads. If they had any suspicions they would have sounded the alarm about it."......

snip

bbm
I'm sure Gavin Allen is honest when he speaks about the band members. But I have to admit, for me lingering doubts remain. And it does not only pertain to the Lostprophets members but extends to other bands and musicians as well. From now on I will always wonder what - besides drugs - really goes on behind the curtain. It's sad really. This case has shocked me deeply. I find it almost incomprehensible.

 

[Elainera]

OH MY GOD. I'm terrified of any of these people ever getting out of prison. This is just sickening.

And how in the WORLD could that woman do that to her own child??? UGH.

jmo

I am seriously going to vomit. They need to be put away for LIFE.

jmo

Speaking of which - what kind of sentence can we expect here? Will they get life? I hope so, but somehow I doubt it. I think they might get out long before their sexually active years are over.

I know Mark Bridger got life, but he also murdered the child. OTOH, Watkins molested more children than just one, and has more charges - will that add up to life? Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question. Layman here. :blushing:

 

[Cappuccino]

He won't get a whole life tarrif in prison, if that's what you're hoping for. I would expect him to be on the Sex Offenders Register for life though, and also a prison sentence in double figures given the serious nature of his offenses.

 

[Herat]

This kind of stuff calls for extermination.

There is no way to rehabilitate a pedophile like this.

 

[zwiebel]

South Wales police are looking at prosecuting Peaches Geldorf for tweeting the name of the two women in this case, after she read them on a US website. Wish they'd been as quick with spotting Watkin's social media.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/28/peaches-geldof-tweet-ian-watkins-lostprophets

People have been warning for years and years about this man. All over the web. 40,000 viewers saw his postings. He couldn't have been much more open about his tastes, either. His password for his icloud crashplan storage was I****kids.

He thought he was untouchable and he was right. He was, for years. Those poor babes. I hope there aren't any more, but it doesn't seem possible these are his only victims.

 

[zwiebel]

A detective working the case has been charged with gross misconduct by the IPCC( independent police commission). He will remain anonymous too, I bet.

Shots of peach's tweets also at the link, with the ones which named the women redacted.

http://www.nme.com/news/lostprophet...r&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=lostprophets

 

[Cappuccino]

A detective working the case has been charged with gross misconduct by the IPCC( independent police commission). He will remain anonymous too, I bet.

Shots of peach's tweets also at the link, with the ones which named the women redacted.

http://www.nme.com/news/lostprophet...r&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=lostprophets

Why would he remain anonymous? The only reason the two women have anonymity is to protect their children.

 

[modesty blaise]

those reprobate women don't deserve anonymity one can only/hope assume their children were taken away and cannot be linked to them.

 

[Cappuccino]

those reprobate women don't deserve anonymity one can only/hope assume their children were taken away and cannot be linked to them.

Even if they are, until they are adopted and have new names they can still be linked to the defendants. So for anyone to be posting their names at this stage, while the victims can still be linked to them and before we even know whether or not the children will ever get new names, is pure thoughtless.

 

[Elainera]

bbm
I'm sure Gavin Allen is honest when he speaks about the band members. But I have to admit, for me lingering doubts remain. And it does not only pertain to the Lostprophets members but extends to other bands and musicians as well. From now on I will always wonder what - besides drugs - really goes on behind the curtain. It's sad really. This case has shocked me deeply. I find it almost incomprehensible.

Sorry, quoting myself to say I meant inconceivable, not incomprehensible - English is not my first language. :blushing:

 

[modesty blaise]

Even if they are, until they are adopted and have new names they can still be linked to the defendants. So for anyone to be posting their names at this stage, while the victims can still be linked to them and before we even know whether or not the children will ever get new names, is pure thoughtless.

you're right of course..
these types of cases frustrate and anger me to no end:banghead:

 

[buffetoflies]

There are still fans who continue listening to the band because they are able to separate the art from the artist while acknowledging that the crimes were inexcusable, and I respect that.

I can't listen anymore, and haven't since it initially came out... he was the singer, but was he also the writer? It is entirely possible that the lyrics have sick undertones.

Ugh. I'm looking at the lyrics (I deleted all songs, plus I've only heard the singles), they have a song called 'For He's A Jolly Good Felon' which is about theft, and isn't a very good example, but looking at these just make me feel all slimy.

I hope these kids are removed from the 'mothers' and are adopted out to home where they can heal... I also think that IW should have to pay all the money he has left from being in LP to them.

I also read that he was possibly the father of the babies. I stopped reading after that.

 

[Perodicticus potto]

Ugh. I'm looking at the lyrics (I deleted all songs, plus I've only heard the singles), they have a song called 'For He's A Jolly Good Felon' which is about theft, and isn't a very good example, but looking at these just make me feel all slimy.

And don't forget the video where he plays a children's TV presenter!

I do feel bad for the other members of the band. Having had my own extended family blighted by the actions of a child molester, I know that it is indeed possible for good people to live in close proximity to these criminals without having a clue what's going on. And a pervert's circle of victims extends far beyond the children they actually assault: everyone who has interacted closely with them in the belief that they were a decent person has been betrayed. When the other members look back on the band that they made their life's work for over a decade, they will see it primarily as a time when they were deceived and manipulated by a monster. Not to mention that their royalties for past work, which most professional musicians can rely on for income, will now dwindle to practically zero.

As for Ms Geldof, well ... I know she's a saint compared to IW, but she wants to be careful about condemning the "cult of celebrity" that catapults "majorly talentless" people to fame. I hope she gets the same penalty that any member of the public would get.

 

[Perodicticus potto]

Even if they are, until they are adopted and have new names they can still be linked to the defendants. So for anyone to be posting their names at this stage, while the victims can still be linked to them and before we even know whether or not the children will ever get new names, is pure thoughtless.

Indeed. If you knew the mothers' names, it would take seconds to look up their Facebook profiles, where (since no one seems to understand FB's privacy settings) you would very likely find the children's names and photos. Do the people repeating the names on social media really not understand this?