Ex-girlfriend of paedophile Ian Watkins cleared

Former Lostprophets frontman and convicted paedophile Ian Watkins. Picture: PA

The prosecution alleged former prostitute Joanne Mjadzelics was obsessed with the Lostprophets singer and would do anything to fuel his depraved desires.

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But mother-of-one Mjadzelics, 39, of Doncaster, claimed she was trying to entrap him by collecting evidence of his sex offending.

After more than 14 hours of deliberations, the jury at Cardiff Crown Court cleared her of four counts of possessing indecent images of a child, one of inciting Watkins to send her illegal photographs and two of sending pictures to Watkins.

Watkins was handed a 35-year sentence for a string of sexual offences – including the attempted rape of a fan’s baby. Two female accomplices were also given lengthy prison terms.

Mjadzelics said she had been prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to entrap the disgraced singer after saying her complaints about him were not taken seriously by police.

As well as continuing to sleep with Watkins, she also risked jail by getting him to send indecent images of children and have online sex conversations about abusing children.

She insisted the lurid chats, as well as her apology to Watkins for threatening to report him, were an act to collect evidence.

Outside court, a tearful Ms Mjadzelics thanked her legal team for believing in her when “no-one else did”.

Her trial heard she reported Watkins to police and social services in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012.

She said: “It’s been me against the world, really. Me protecting the kids when everyone else called me liar, psycho – everything else – lie after lie.

“Let’s just see how many kids could have been saved if the  police had done their job. I’ve nothing to say to the police. This was a vicious prosecution.”

Her solicitor Dale Harris said the jury’s verdict confirmed his client had a legitimate reason for her actions.

He said: “This was a spiteful prosecution of a woman who, over a four-year period, single-handedly and doggedly pursued a campaign to force the sleeping authorities to wake up to the reality of the appalling crimes against children she feared Ian Watkins was committing.

“But instead of taking her claims seriously, the police rejected them and dismissed her allegations as those of a disgruntled ex-partner with mental health issues.”

The Crown Prosecution Service said while it respected the jury’s verdict, it still was right to pursue the case against Ms Mjadzelics.