Welsh singer Watkins faces charges of conspiracy to rape baby girl
(03-12 13:18)
A Welsh singer in a rock band has been charged with conspiring with a young woman to rape a one-year-old baby girl, media reports said. Ian Watkins, 35, from Pontypridd in south Wales will face trial in June.
Watkins, the lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets, "furiously denies" child sex offences, his solicitor has said, the Guardian reports. The case was briefly mentioned at Cardiff crown court on Monday. Afterwards his solicitor, Sarah Williams-Martin, said he would fight all the allegations.
Watkins, whose band has sold more than 3.5 million albums worldwide, allegedly conspired with a woman to rape a one-year-old girl. He is charged with other offences including possessing, making and distributing indecent images of children.
Two women, one aged 24, the other 20, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are charged alongside Watkins, the Guardian said. The 24-year-old is accused of the same six offences as Watkins, while the second woman is charged with the same offences except conspiracy to rape.
The alleged offences date from May to December 2012.
One of the two women appeared in person at court, while the other, who is in custody, appeared via videolink.
Co-founded by Watkins in Pontypridd in 1997, Lostprophets released five albums, the latest, Weapons, in April 2012. It has had two singles, Last Train Home and Rooftops, in the UK top 10.
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