Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins has been sentenced to 35 years for child sex offences including the attempted rape of a baby.
Watkins, 36, from Pontypridd, pleaded guilty to 13 child sex offences at Cardiff Crown Court in November. He will spend 29 years of his sentence in jail with the remaining sixon licence. His two co-defendants, mothers of the abused children, were also jailed for 14 and 17 years. Speaking before sentence, Mr Justice Royce said the case broke “new ground” and “plunged into new depths of depravity”. Watkins was sentenced alongside two women, mothers of the abused children, known as Woman A and Woman B, who also pleaded guilty to child abuse charges at a hearing in November. Woman A was jailed for 14 years and Woman B was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Watkins admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 but pleaded not guilty to rape. He also admitted conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal. During sentencing, Mr Justice Royce said the case “plunged into new depths of depravity”. “Those who have appeared in these courts over many years see here a large number of horrific cases,” he said. “This case breaks new ground. Any decent person… will experience shock, revulsion and incredulity.” He added it was a “classic case that the evidence was so overwhelming” there should not be credit given. The judge said Watkins had a “corrupting influence”, and had shown a
“complete lack of remorse”. He also said Watkins posed a significant risk to the public in particular to women with young children. He told Woman A: “What you were both doing is both sickening and incomprehensible” and said to Woman B that she did not regard her child as a human being. Earlier on Wednesday, the court was told by defending barrister Sally O’Neill QC how Watkins “belatedly realised the gravity of what happened” and was “deeply, deeply sorry”. She said the Lostprophets were an extremely well-known band. “Ian Watkins was the lead singer and was the focus of constant attention from fans and some would do anything to get it – and keep it,” she told the court. He developed an “obsession” with filming himself having sex. Fans used “extraordinary tactics” to get his attention, and the teenagers he filmed himself having sex with were “extremely willing” participants, she added. Ms O’Neill said the videos needed to be looked at “in context” of his life and not in isolation. She said Watkins life changed at the age of 30 when he became addicted to drugs which had played a “significant” part in the offences. ‘No memory’: She said Watkins had no memory of the crime involving Woman A and her son, where he admitted to the attempted rape of a baby. “Because he had no memory he could not believe he had done that,” she said, adding he had now “confronted reality” over what he had done. Watkins was on 15-minute suicide watch while on remand, the court heard. Jonathan Fuller QC, defending for Woman A, said she felt genuine remorse and was devastated by what she had done. “She was a vulnerable girl who allowed herself to be manipulated and corrupted by this co-defendant [who] introduced her to a world of drugs including injecting her with heroin to facilitate his sexual
gratification,” he said. “And ultimately she allowed herself to be taken to a very dark place.” Christine Laing QC, defending Woman B, said she was a fan with a personality disorder suffering from post-natal depression. – BBC Entertainment
