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Former heavy metal star faces prison term after admitting he downloaded child porn

Karl Logan, former longtime star guitarist of world-touring heavy metal band Manowar, faces at least 25 years in prison after admitting in a federal courtroom in Charlotte Friday that he downloaded and kept child pornography.

The 55-year-old Logan was jailed after pleading guilty to two child-pornography counts, U.S. District Court records show. His sentencing date has not been scheduled.

Logan, who lives in Charlotte, was expelled from the band after his 2018 arrest by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police on six counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

The case was transferred to federal court, where a grand jury indicted Logan last year on one count each of receiving and possessing child pornography, according to court documents. Logan received the images by downloading them on the internet, records show.

Logan joined Manowar in 1994.

Karl Logan, the former longtime guitarist of heavy metal band Manowar, pleaded guilty on Friday, July 24, 2020, to possessing child pornography.
Karl Logan, the former longtime guitarist of heavy metal band Manowar, pleaded guilty on Friday, July 24, 2020, to possessing child pornography. Mecklenburg County jail

The band’s 40th Anniversary Tour in 2021 will include performances in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.

Guinness World Records once certified Manowar as the world’s loudest band, for the decibel level it reached during a 1984 performance in Hanover, Germany, according to udiscovermusic.com. Guinness later removed the category because of concerns the category unintentionally promoted or led to hearing loss, the website reported.

This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 3:08 PM.

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Joe Marusak
The Charlotte Observer
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
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