TW! To not understand the people, mostly women, who sent Ian Watkins letters and money?

[DuvetsFTW]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-49249133.amp

The article is from 2019, but relevant given recent events.

I cannot believe that hundreds of people, mostly women, were allegedly writing letters to Ian Watkins in prison and even sending him money!!! To me, it’s terrifying that these people walk discreetly amongst us. If they’ll help this man, what else will they do? Where is the bar to them?

I’d be interested in hearing about the psychology of all this as I just can’t understand it!

No idea why anyone would do that. I’m glad I don’t understand it though as that must be a positive thing.

I do believe that anyone who sends money to someone like Watkins (a proven and convicted sex offender) should have their own hard drive checked because I shudder to think what they’re capable of.

Yep you commonly hear about strangers even marrying people on death row in the US. It's all very bizarre.

Absolutely crackers! And worrying. I hope they don’t have or plan to have children

I don’t think anyone who is wired relatively normally would be able to understand what they saw in the weaselly faced deviant

It happens with all notorious criminals. Levi Belllfield was apparently going to get married.

I read an article a few years back about a family who were going to take their daughter over to the US to meet some murderer on death row she’d befriended.
They’re probably these weird types who believe the bloke is misunderstood and they’re the only one who understands them.

Freaks the lot of them.

Didnt one of his groupies bascally offer her child to him? I cant imagine being such a fan of someone who not only was so disgusting but becoming so obsessed with him that I allow him access to my child. But then again the mothers of the kids who had ' sleepovers' at Michael Jacksons house did the same. Apart from the horror of it, parasocial relationships are horrifically fascinating. Its like people are lobotomised by it.

Extremely weird. I can only imagine it's some very dysfunctional version of saviour syndrome.

Delusional women. Just as much as the two women who were convicted alongside him that allowed access to their own kids. I mean what the fuck.

The bit where they found out his password to the encrypted drive was ‘IFUKKIDZ’ tells you everything you need to know about his character. No self respecting woman would go anywhere near that.

They need their hard drives checking. Sick bastards.

These kind of people make the idea of forced sterilisation very appealing. What possible justification is there to allow these people to have kids anywhere near them.

Prison pen pals is a thing. It's been a thing for eons

I've found out this week that a friend I was close with in my late teens has recently been put away for some of the same things Watkins was done for. Not as severe as Watkins but bad enough.

One of my first reactions was a brief desire to write to him to at least ask him wtf. But I put that to bed.

I've had a friend who has written to convicts and it does get a bit awkward, the cons know what to say to butter these women up.

I'm just glad Watkins is gone.

Not much difference in thos and bringing the next replacement dad in for the first born child/ren and only care about themselves not the children they decided to have, deluded basically

It wasn’t just pen pals though, I read somewhere they were sending him money etc

Yeah I was talking about this on an IW thread last night. Not just him, but all serial killers, murderers, rapists, violent thugs etc. They seem to draw a certain type of fangirl who is excited by them and their crimes, and the fact they are 'bad boys.'

A certain few women did a lot more than tag onto this vile moster and send him money, gifts, and letters though. And they went to prison for it and will never see their children again. It's so grim and dark that I'm not even going to mention it on here...

Google hybristophilia.

I went to school with someone whos Mum did this.
She actually married him in an American prison.

It's happened for years. Both the Krays married in prison (and one of them was gay!) and Peter Sutcliffe was stringing along several different women. I doubt female lifers attract the same attention from male groupies

I’m told he was a very charming, charismatic man - and that he was very manipulative. I can’t understand it, but I’ve seen similar people at work (despite there being so much information about the awful things he did), so it’s very plausible imo.

there is a sub-set of women who go wild for who they perceive as ‘bad boys’ and they think they can change them. Stems from daddy issues I think.

Serious question- if someone came on and told you would you understand it? Because all I can imagine is a barrage of posts screeching THATS NO EXCUSE /THAT HAPPENED TO ME AND I DIDNT DO THAT/ I STILL CAN’T UNDERSTAND so I completely get why a consultant psychiatrist or someone who might know wouldn’t bother contributing.

I went down the rabbit hole earlier (stupidly) and read the judge's transcript of the sentencing. The details in there are horrific. The 2 women, convicted alongside him, are the vilest of creatures for allowing him to do thos things (and participating!) to their children.
I hope the victims are okay now, and are safe and able to lead happy lives.

Having read what they did - it beggers belief to me there are other women out there who were writing and speaking to him/thinking along the same lines. In fact, I saw one article - from around 2019 I think, although I may be wrong on the date - who had her 2 year old daughter removed from her as she was writing to Warkins in prison and it stated that the language he was using in his letters back to her were considered grooming, snd similar to the previous tactics he had used on the two women who jad been convicted with him.

Vile. Absolutely vile.

Then there are me and my DH here - 6 years TTC. Multiple miscarriages. Unexplained infertility. Unlikely to be approved for adoption due to my BMI and another health issue. Yet scum like that can go on having children and being monsters to them.

My SILs partners mum had an american prison penpal. He murdeded someone - i think some sort of robbery. Been in prison since late teens/early twenties and when he was released she moved over to America to marry him!!
i just dont understand it.

there are plenty of law abiding men out there looking for girlfriends!

Why is it assumed women are better than men?

I think it’s different in this case. I can see someone admiring a serial killer or something (not saying I do but I get how that can happen). Child rapists though are usually seen as a whole different category of disgusting. I’m really struggling to understand this.

Hybristophilia, if you really want to delve into the psychology. Just about the only paraphilia that's more common in women.