So, they can name him but not his accused co-conspirators? What "legal reasons" are there?
According to
Huffington Post on 31 December 2012:
"The pair ... cannot be named for legal reasons after
magistrates granted an anonymity order."
This is highly unusual as it goes against the principle of open justice, but their lawyers asked for this order and got it.
And the
International Business Times also states:
"A ban was placed by Cardiff Crown Court on the naming of the two women, aged 20 and 24.
The section 39 order strictly prohibits publishing any detail likely to identify them."
On Twitter some people have ignored this order and named the women. Not a good idea.
Section 39 is part of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
Why the secrecy? Not totally sure yet, and we may never know.
Maybe the ladies are related to the allegedly abused children or they are the children's teachers. So by disclosing the women's names it could lead to jigsaw identification of the allegedly abused children. Maybe the disclosure of their names would "frustrate or render impractical the administration of justice" (Lord Diplock's words on open justice). Which can have multiple meanings - fans of Watkins start threatening the women, etc, etc.
Ian Watkins denies the charges.
Also, some more info here:
Media Law