Lostprophets front man Ian Watkins faces being sentenced to years in prison today, having admitted over 13 serious sexual offences against young children. Last month, the singer pleaded guilty to those offences, including attempt to rape a baby. He also admitted of conspiring to rape another child.
The hearing took place at approximately 10:50am this morning, where prosecutor Chris Clee QC told Watkins he was a “determined and committed paedophile.“ DCI Peter Doyle of South Wales Police also added “This investigation has uncovered the most shocking and harrowing child abuse evidence I’ve ever seen.”
Also sentenced today are the two women, who appeared in court alongside Watkins. One, a 21 year old who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted to aiding and abetting an attempted rape, sexually assaulting a child under 13 and taking incident photographs of children.
The other, a 24 year old, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a children under 13 by penetration and sexually assaulting another children under 13 by touching. She also admitted to conspiracy to rape a child under 13, conspiracy to sexually adult a girl under 13, two counts of indecent photographs of children and distribution of these images.
During the prosecution, the court heard how Watkins made two phone calls to a female friend in prison. He told the friend that he despite pleading guilty he was innocent saying: “I’m going to put a statement on the 18th now just to say it was megalolz, I don’t know what everyone is getting so freaked out about.” They also heard how Watkins is currently on a 15 minute suicide watch since he has been in jail.
The theme of Watkins’ defence mitigation focused on how he was “set up” by fans giving him sexual attention and how his drug use meant he was out of control. Watkins’ who claims he cannot remember his actions due to the drugs, is said to be “ashamed and appalled by what has happened”.
Mitigation for Women A, claimed that she was a vulnerable girl who was manipulated and corrupted by Watkins. Defence claims that it was he who introduced her to drugs and sometimes pressed it upon her.
Similarly mitigation for Women B told of an exchange of messages between her and the singer. The court was told about how she was a huge fan of Watkins and has over 1,2000 photos of him on her iPod. In a conversation between the two which was read out in court, Watkins said, “You can reap the rewards of your master being kind of a big deal.” The women, “You are a big deal, you are Ian Watkins.” His response was, “I am and you and your daughter now belong to me.”
All three will be sentenced today at 2pm.
