Joanne Mjadzelics, who is currently on trial for possessing indecent images of children, has maintained her innocence since being charged, and says her exchanges with Watkins were set up to catch him and bring him to justice.
The 39-year-old maintains she wanted to get ‘inside’ Watkins head in order to trap him, and to do so she took part in graphic chats during which the abuse of children and babies was discussed.
Joanne explained her actions to the jury: ‘Playing him, leading him on, telling him what he wanted to hear, telling him that I love him, although I don’t think I did, just telling him what he wanted to hear.’
Her defence barrister told the court: ‘She is stressed, traumatised, has suffered a stroke, has disabling migraines.’
Mjadzelics met Ian through the Lost Prophets website in 2006. After beginning a sexual relationship with the star, Joanne was allegedly made aware of Watkins’ illegal activities involving children, and reported him to the police in 2008.
She allegedly continued to report him to authorities in the years following, and in 2010 she reported that Watkins showed her a video of a child ‘crying and being raped’ as he had an ‘evil smirk.’
It was then that she apparently decided to entrap Watkins and bring him to justice.
The trial continues.