Ian Watkins
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| “ | 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. | „ |
| ~ Watkins describing his horrific sex crimes during a phone call from a fan, showing no remorse for what he did |
Ian Watkins (Born July 30th, 1977) is a Welsh singer, musician, and convicted sex offender.
He achieved prominence as a founding member, lead vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Lostprophets. Lostprophets disbanded in 2013 after Watkins was charged with sexual offenses in late 2012. In November 2013, he pleaded guilty to 13 charges, including the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13; these offenses were committed against the infant children of two women who were also convicted. He was subsequently jailed for 29 years and ordered to serve a further six years on extended license.
Biography edit
Ian David Karslake Watkins was born in Merthyr Tydfil on 30 July 1977. He later moved to Pontypridd, where he attended Hawthorn High School with future Lostprophets bandmate Mike Lewis. He gained a first-class honours degree in graphic design from the University of Wales, Newport.
Lewis' and Watkins's mutual enjoyment of rock and metal music strengthened their friendship, leading them to form a group as teenagers in 1991 called Aftermath, a thrash metal band that played in a shed in Watkins's garden.
Whilst spending time in the local Ynysangharad Park, where (17 years later) Lostprophets would headline The Full Ponty festival, Watkins was introduced to future bandmate Lee Gaze through a mutual friend. Having abandoned Aftermath, which made two live appearances in its lifespan of two years, Watkins and Gaze decided to form a new band called Fleshbind, based on their American hardcore punk influences. The band played several shows, including one supporting Feeder in London, but the group was short-lived.
Watkins reunited with Mike Lewis as a drummer in a hardcore band called Public Disturbance, formed in 1995. By this time, Watkins and Gaze had left Fleshbind to create their own band, Lost Prophets, who made their live debut in May 1997 alongside Public Disturbance, with Watkins as the lead vocalist. In 1998, Watkins left Public Disturbance to concentrate on the newly named lostprophets (all lower-case letters).
Crimes edit
On December 19th, 2012; Watkins was charged with engaging in sexual activity with a one-year-old girl, and with possession of and/or distribution of indecent images of children and "extreme animal pornography", charges which were heard at Cardiff magistrates court. On November 26th, Watkins pleaded guilty to attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13, but not guilty to rape. This was accepted by the prosecution. He further pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault involving children and six involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal. He was sentenced on December 18th. A senior investigating officer on the case described Watkins as a "committed, organised paedophile" and "potentially the most dangerous sex offender" he had ever seen.
Watkins' victims included a baby and he sent an SMS text message to the mother of one, saying "If you belong to me, so does your baby". South Wales Police's investigation into Watkins, codenamed "Operation Globe", required the cooperation of GCHQ to de-encrypt a hidden drive on his laptop, which was then found to contain videos of his abuses. One of the passwords for his laptop was "I FUK KIDZ". Additionally, he found women in their twenties to be too old for him.
While in prison, Watkins stole two Taylor Swift songs and distributed them online as his own.
Ian Watkins also allegedly groomed a mother of a two-year old while in prison. The mother was later removed from her care.
In March 2018, Watkins was found with a mobile phone. He pleaded not guilty to the offence of "possession of a mobile phone in a prison", claiming other inmates were threatening and extorting him, forcing him to hide the phone. After a five-day trial at Leeds Crown Court in August 2019, he was convicted and sentenced to an additional ten months' imprisonment.