'We'd like to knock him around his prison cell': Parents of paedophile Ian Watkins speak of their anger after son is jailed for 35 years
- Ian Watkins, 36, admitted attempted rape of a 11-month-old boy in 2012
- Singer jailed for 29 years followed by six years on extended licence
- Step-father John Davies said family are 'completely and utterly devastated'
- Said his 'heart aches' for Watkins's mother, Elaine
- British detectives believe other children have fallen prey to paedophile
- Judge calls Watkins 'dangerous' and 'children need protection from you'
- Police call rock star potentially 'the most dangerous sex offender ever'
- Woman A and Woman B - his accomplices - received 14 and 17 years
- After his guilty plea he called friend and described baby rape as 'Mega lolz'
By
Paul Bentley
and Louise Eccles
and Martin Robinson
|
Ian Watkins’ parents told last night of their anger toward their son, saying they want to ‘knock him around’ in his prison cell.
John Davies, 53, and his wife Elaine, 60, were too distressed to go to court to see their son sentenced yesterday and have instead focused their sympathy on his victims.
‘I could cheerfully spend an hour knocking him around a cell,’ Mr Davies, a Baptist minister, told the Mail.
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Ian Watkins's step-father, John Davies, said he could 'cheerfully spend an hour knocking him around a cell' and said his 'heart aches' for his wife, Elaine (pictured)
‘There are things I may well want to say to him. These offences are so horrific. They are the most heinous crimes. Every one of us is completely and utterly devastated.’
But he said he was standing by the singer and hoped he could be rehabilitated in time.
Mr Davies, who fears Watkins will be remembered as a ‘sort of Jimmy Savile character’, said his stepson was being targeted in prison because of his fame.
Watkins’ biological father died when he was a child and he was brought up in Mr Davies’ clergy house in Pontypridd, South Wales. When he was charged his parents prayed he had been set up in a ‘complex conspiracy’ by cruel fans. The truth has traumatised them.
Mr Davies said: ‘We chose not to come to court. It is far too distressing for Elaine and for me’. He said his wife was seriously unwell after a kidney transplant.
‘My heart aches for her,’ he added. ‘Ian had a very strong relationship with his mother. It is a very deep bond. My heart aches for any individual who has been drawn into this and been affected by it. And only time will tell who those victims are.’
Shameless predator Watkins wearing a T-shirt with 'mega lolz' phrase that he used to make light of abuse
Watkins was a top student who achieved a first class honours degree in graphic design at the University of Wales before switching to a career in music.
The family believe Watkins, who dated Fearne Cotton and Alexa Chung, was damaged by fame. ‘We never thought for a minute he would be as successful as he was,’ Mr Davies said. ‘The emphasis in those days was that the whole band was what they called straight-edge [well behaved]. But something happened.
‘He was emphatic as he was growing up through his teenage years that he would never drink, never do drugs. That’s what he told us.
‘Whether that was to reassure us as parents, I don’t know. But obviously something went wrong in later years. I think it coincided with being in the American scene.
‘He started giving interviews and there were concerns that perhaps he was just trying to shock, or create an impression or trying to push boundaries to reinvent himself and the band.’
Watkins’ younger brother Daniel, 24, added: ‘They were all teetotal. We have no idea what happened. That was when they decided to base themselves in LA, which is obviously a totally different culture to the South Wales valleys.’
Daniel said he now kept quiet about the identity of his brother.
‘When I was in high school it was awesome. I thought all the attention was great. I was naïve. I don’t want to be known as the brother of Ian Watkins.’
Mr Davies said the family are hoping Watkins can be rehabilitated and, despite their anger, will not totally cast him aside.
‘The police said he wouldn’t think twice about hanging you or anyone else out to dry, why are you bothering, why would you want to stand by him?
‘I said, because he is my stepson. Because it gives me an opportunity to seek some healing in a very broken family.’
How could any mother be so evil? Judge's withering condemnation as he jails two women for 31 years for letting pop star abuse their babies
Two mothers committed the ‘greatest betrayal’ by offering up their children for horrific abuse by a paedophile rock star, a judge said yesterday.
Mr Justice Royce said the depraved pair had sacrificed their moral compass because of their infatuation with Ian Watkins.
‘That you were manipulated by Watkins may be obvious, but you were a mother – your infant was only 11 months old,’ he said in jailing the first woman for 14 years.
‘A mother naturally loves, protects, shields, nurtures and cherishes. Your infant would have trusted you implicitly.
‘You totally betrayed that trust. Could there be a greater betrayal?’
Sentencing Watkins, the judge said his crimes have broken 'new ground' in the 'horrific cases' he has previously seen
The second woman, a crazed fan who plotted with the 36-year-old Lostprophets singer to rape her daughter and abused her on camera for his pleasure, was given a 17-year term.
Sentencing Watkins to 35 years, the judge said: ‘Those who have appeared in these courts over many years see a large number of horrific cases. This case, however, breaks new ground.
‘Any decent person looking at and listening to the material here will experience shock, revulsion, anger and incredulity. What you three did plumbs new depths of depravity.’
In other developments in the appalling case:
- The judge faced criticism for ruling Watkins could be free by the age of 55;
- Three police forces were accused of ignoring warnings about the dangerous paedophile;
- Officers were searching for victims in Germany and the US, where Watkins had toured with his band;
- The singer’s parents said they wanted an hour with him in his prison cell to ‘knock him around’;
- It emerged that he described his evil crimes as ‘mega lolz’ – his band’s reference to laughing out loud.
Watkins, who had dated TV presenters Fearne Cotton and Alexa Chung, groomed female fans and told them to give him their children for sex.
Cardiff Crown Court was told the ‘fawning’ women were so flattered to have his attention they did anything he asked.
The first of the two mothers, who cannot be named to protect their children, was 17 when she began a sexual relationship with Watkins.
Now 21, she has a history of fraud and a tattoo on her chest dedicated to her idol – an image of hands touching to form a heart with his initials inside. Together, they videoed him trying to rape her 11-month-old son.
She took pictures of herself abusing her baby and sent them to Watkins.
Watkins told one of the women: 'You and your daughter now belong to me'
Planning a ‘summer of filthy child porn’, they exchanged text messages and used the baby as a ‘sex slave’. The woman, whose child is now in foster care, admitted child abuse.
Jonathan Fuller QC, in mitigation, told the court: ‘She was a girl doing her A-levels. He was in the limelight and a rock star. She was vulnerable and exploited.’
The other woman, 25, plotted with Watkins to rape her baby daughter and abused her on camera for his pleasure after they began chatting online last summer.
He had written to the besotted fan, who had 1,200 pictures of him, stating he was the ‘master’ and ‘you and your daughter now belong to me’. The woman initially denied child abuse but changed her plea to guilty before the trial.
Her barrister, Christine Lang QC, told the court she was a very immature young woman who couldn’t believe Watkins could be interested in her. He was interested only in her daughter however.
They had discussed ‘whoring out’ the child to fat old men and torturing her for fun.
The judge said the mother had abused her child ‘enthusiastically’ to impress her idol. ‘This was your own flesh and blood,’ he told her. ‘You used your daughter as a tool to secure Watkins’ acceptance.’
Police have teamed up with colleagues in Germany and the US fearing there may be many other victims.
While Watkins confessed to 13 child sex offences, he has remained totally unrepentant.
He phoned a friend from prison after pleading guilty last month and described his evil crimes as ‘mega lolz’ – a phrase used by his band the Lostprophets when something should be mocked by ‘laughing out loud’.
'A mother naturally loves, protects, nurtures and cherishes. Your infant would have trusted you implicitly. You totally betrayed that trust,'
Mr Justice Royce
He said his crimes were ‘not that bad’, adding: ‘I don’t know what everyone is getting so freaked out about.’ He also tried to use his fame to reduce his sentence, claiming he was ‘bombarded with messages from fans trying to hit on him’.
The singer has been described by police as ‘the most dangerous sex offender ever seen’ and a ‘significant risk to the public’.
Mr Justice Royce gave Watkins a 35-year sentence – but six of those will be spent on licence and he is eligible for parole two thirds of the way into his jail term. He could be back on the streets when he is 55.
Addressing the singer, who was shaking in the dock, he added: ‘You had many fawning fans. That gave you power. You knew you could use that power to induce young female fans to help satisfy your insatiable lust and take part in the sexual abuse of their own children.’
John Carr, a government adviser on child safety, told the Mail: ‘From the evidence in court, it is clear this man is a permanent danger. It makes the idea that he might come out again completely baffling.’
He said Watkins should have been given an indefinite prison sentence, with experts deciding on the prospects of rehabilitation.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle said Watkins had ‘shown no empathy, no sympathy or any remorse’.
Why didn't police stop this monster? They were repeatedly warned about depraved rocker - but failed to act
Ex-girlfriend Joanne Majic reported Watkins to South Wales Police but her pleas were ignored
Three police forces repeatedly ignored warnings that Ian Watkins was a dangerous paedophile.
Serious allegations dating back to 2008 were not investigated, apparently because officers were in awe of the rock star.
By the time he was charged six forces had been flooded with tip-offs from appalled fans, former girlfriends and even Crimestoppers informants.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission will now investigate three of those forces – South Wales, South Yorkshire and Bedfordshire – and ‘whether his celebrity status had any impact on the investigation’.
One former lover told four different forces about Watkins eight times over four years. She passed on the names, ages and addresses of the toddlers he would go on to subject to horrific torture.
But instead of probing the claims, officers warned her she could be charged with harassment.
Another lover, Joanne Mjadzelics, said the police failings led to the singer becoming increasingly brazen and believing he was invincible.
The 36-year-old was caught by chance – officers arrested him for drug offences last December and found a video of him attacking a baby. Even then he was twice granted bail before being charged.
Jan Williams, an IPCC commissioner, said: ‘Questions are now rightly being asked as to whether Ian Watkins could have been brought to justice sooner, what steps were taken by police in response to allegations made against him as far back as 2008 and whether his celebrity status had any impact on the investigation.’
The IPCC has been in contact with another three forces – the Metropolitan, Essex and West Yorkshire – but is not investigating them at this stage.
Police in South Wales, where Watkins lives, were warned by five other forces about claims of sexual abuse by Watkins between 2008 and 2012.
Miss Mjadzelics, 38, began on an on-off relationship with Watkins in 2006, after contacting him through The Lostprophets’ MySpace page.
Ms Majic said he had fantasies about kidnapping and murdering a baby and warned police at first in 2008
She admitted she was utterly charmed by the handsome singer, who appeared ‘so sweet, so kind and always attentive’.
But in 2008, he admitted to sinister fantasies involving the rape of children. She said: ‘He began telling me about all these 14-year-old fans that he loved to take the virginity of.
‘And it just got worse and worse and he would start telling me things about how he wanted to get me pregnant so that he could rape our daughter.
‘He wanted to kidnap children. He wanted to get me involved in it.’
Miss Mjadzelics said she reported him to South Wales Police, even telling the child protection unit in his home town of Pontypridd the name of a four-year-old girl he had boasted of abusing.
But she said a detective sergeant told her they were dropping the investigation and warned her she could face harassment charges, after she wrote to Watkins’ mother to warn her about what she knew.
Miss Mjadzelics said: ‘I said to him, look, I’m not a psycho, I’m not a liar, I’m telling the truth. And if anything else happens to another child it’s on your head, not mine.’
Exchange: This AOL conversation shows how Watkins apparently offered to DJ at the woman's daughter's party in return for sex with her child
At Leeds Festival the next year, their relationship now over, Watkins showed her a video of a girl being sexually assaulted.
She said: ‘She was probably about five or six, and I knew then that I wasn’t wrong [about him].
‘And I thought “what can I do?” The police have said that I could get harassment charges.’
She rekindled her relationship with Watkins, thinking she must have been wrong about him.
But in 2011, she returned to the police after Watkins contacted her on Skype from Los Angeles and told her about a five-year-old girl he had been assaulting. He also texted her three images of child abuse.
Prosecution: Cardiff Crown Court heard that Watkins was 'a determined and committed paedophile engaged in serious sex offences involving of two babies'
She said she emailed South Wales police to say Watkins had escalated the abuse and had now raped ‘at least one’ young child.
She claims a detective sergeant called her back, but did not ask the see the images of the abuse and did ‘nothing at all’.
In spring 2012, Miss Mjadzelics turned to South Yorkshire Police in Doncaster, where she lived, and told them the name of a baby Watkins planned to abuse, after speaking to the child’s mother.
The mother later called police to claim it was a lie and no further action was taken, she said. Three weeks later he sexually assaulted the 11-month-old with the mother’s consent.
The IPCC said a ‘significant part’ of its probe is focused on a detective sergeant in South Wales who has been served with gross misconduct notices and removed from frontline duty.
How many more children did Lostprophets paedophile abuse? Police contact Interpol and U.S. Homeland Security in international hunt for victims
Police believe more children could have fallen prey to paedophile Ian Watkins and have launched an international appeal for victims to come forward.
British detectives are working with Interpol and the U.S. Department for Homeland Security after the Lostprophets frontman was jailed for 29 years today.
South Wales Police (SWP) believes that several other children may have been abused in the years he toured with Lostprophets.
Shocking: Ian Watkins pictured himself performing a sex act in a Skype conversation, where he also begged to abuse the daughter of a fan he was having sex with. British detectives have launched an international appeal for more victims
Detectives fear there may have been at least two other child sex abuse victims in Germany and America.
'Our priority area is Germany and the USA at the moment,' said Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle, the senior investigator in the case.
He said the force had been in touch with Interpol, the German Federal Police and Homeland Security in Boston and Los Angeles.
'The reason for that is that he travelled so extensively. Our view is that there are other victims,' he said.
He added: 'The absolute number one priority is the identification and protection of children, protecting children wherever they are.'
He said police were following leads in Germany and America: 'But I cannot say more than that at the moment.'
He added that the lack of remorse shown by Watkins 'potentially makes him the most dangerous sex offender I have ever seen.'
Joanna Majic, 38, his former girlfriend, claims Watkins abused hundreds of young victims during years of drug-fuelled debauchery.
Depraved: The rock star had denied the crimes but police realised it was him because of his distinctive tattoos and his voice
After he admitted 13 offences, she warned that he was a prolific child sex predator and claimed that female fans offered up their children as victims.
And
she said that the true extent of his vile sexual abuse would never be
known because the mothers involved will never come forward.
DCI Doyle said: 'There is clearly a logical argument in that. Someone abusing a child is unlikely to come forward.
'The flip side is that we have two people (the mothers in question) sentenced with Mr Watkins. We found them and we will find others too.'
The judge gave Watkins 29 years in prison, of which he is expected to serve almost 20 years, followed by a further six years on licence on top of the nine years remaining of his jail sentence.
Watkins looked blank as he was led from the dock and the sentence was greeted by shouts of 'Yes' from the public gallery.
Mother A, who allowed Watkins to try to rape her son, received 14 years in prison. Mother B, who took part in a plot with Watkins' to rape her daughter, received 17 years.
The judge spoke in court about an
interview that Watkins had with the Probation Service, since the
admissions he made last month, for a report.
'ARROGANT' WATKINS BLAMED FANS AND DRUGS FOR CHILD ABUSE
Ian Watkins has persistently refused to accept that he is a paedophile and even denied a video showing him trying to rape a baby was him.
Instead the singer attempted to blame memory loss caused by drugs and also obsessed fans for his string of child sex offences.
In mitigation Watkins defence team today admitted that he was arrogant and had 'taken advantage of his fame.'
Sally O'Neil QC, defending, said: 'The Lostprophets were an extremely well known rock band both in Wales and internationally.
'Watkins received constant attention from fans and when they had that attention they would do anything to keep it.
'He would not be the first rockstar to find that a heady mix - nor the first or last to take advantage of it.
'For 24 hours a days, seven days a week, Ian Watkins was bombarded with messages from fans trying to hit on him.'
Miss O'Neil QC said that Watkins had a desire to push taboos and break boundaries.
'The level of attention he got from fans escalated in a criminal fashion which has lead to him being before the courts,' she said.
'From 2009 he became quite addicted to a variety of drugs which lead to him having no memory of being on tour with the group and his actions continued when he was at home.
Cardiff Crown Court heard that Watkins had previously denied sexually assaulting children but videos showed him attempting to rape a baby.
Miss O'Neil QC added: 'He now realises it's him in the videos and the realisation makes him feel sick.
'Watkins claimed his personality meant he did nothing by halves and so his drug use quickly escalated.
'There was his arrogance because of the position he was in which lead to his inability to adhere with society's boundaries.'
But Nottingham Trent University senior psychology lecturer Serena Simmons, whose research work has seen her come face to face with some of Britain's worst sex offenders, said drugs are often a secondary issue when it comes to child abusers.
She said: 'In my experience I have never met a child abuser who has been made one via their drug-taking.
'They usually have a long history of abuse or attempted abuse towards children.
'Looking at his background and analysing his life over a number of years will be key to establishing where he developed this unhealthy attraction.
'However, Ian Watkins' drug-taking is not the reason for his actions.'
'You spoke to the author of your desire to shock and your craving to push the sexual boundaries,' the judge said.
'This craving was fuelled by your use of cocaine and methamphetamine which increased your sexual aggression.
'You spoke of not knowing to what extremes you would have gone but for your arrest. It is difficult to imagine anything much worse.'
Police said after the
sentencing Watkins was potentially the most dangerous sex offender ever,
and their ongoing investigation now has spread to the United States and
Germany.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle said 'he has shown no empathy, no sympathy or any remorse'.
'It's
as if he just doesn't care. He has shown no remorse at any time. In my
view, that potentially makes him the most dangerous sex offender I have
ever seen.
'Offending
against children does not get any worse. We are not talking about
children of any age here, we are talking about babies. I don't know what
he is not capable of.'
'For me he is a committed, organised paedophile. I believe that he has offended against other children.'
Earlier
the court heard Watkins phoned a friend from prison after pleading
guilty to child sex abuse last month and described his evil crimes as ‘mega lolz’ - a famous phrase used by his band the Lostprophets and printed on their T-shirts.
His defence team also revealed Watkins believed he was 'set-up' by obsessed fans 'trying to hit on him' because he was too high on drugs to remember the abuse.
In
a phone call from prison with a woman named Samantha on November 27 he
said his crimes were ‘not that bad’ and said he had considered trying to
trick a jury into believing he was innocent using his ‘charm’.
‘It was like either me go up there and say come on it wasn’t that bad. Do I try to win them over with my charm? Or do I just make things worse for myself saying I was off my head, I can’t remember,’ he said.
Describing his abuse of children, he added: ‘It was mega lolz. I don’t know what everyone is getting so freaked out about.’
A day later, on November 28, he again showed no remorse, describing himself as a victim.
He told the same friend: ‘It’s so hard. There is a lot of f****** bulls*** chat I did to shock when I was off my head. There was no medical evidence. I’m not a paedophile, I’m not. You know I’ve plead guilty just to avoid a trial. I would never harm anybody.’
‘When
I go for sentencing I’m going to release a statement,’ he said. When
advised not to say it was ‘mega lols’, he responded: ‘It’s just lols
now.’
The phrase 'mega lolz' was used by the Lostprophets on some of their T-shirts. The group also performed in front of a back-drop saying MEGA LOLZ! on the main stage of the Reading Festival in 2010.
The court heard Watkins, 36, had images on his computer of children between the ages of two and 14. He also had 22 pictures of bestiality, showing sex with dogs.
A probation report published today deemed him a 'high risk' of causing serious sexual harm to children.
Watkins appeared in court with the two mothers who took part in the abuse of their babies. He wore a three piece suit and red tie, with his hair in a quiff and looked straight ahead, betraying little emotion. Later he was visibly shaking.
The former rock star pleaded guilty to a series of charges last month but claimed he was so high on crystal meth he could not remember doing it.
He
was caught after sending a series of disgusting text and internet
messages where the 36-year-old paedophile plotted with two groupies to
abuse their children with their consent.
As well as sexually touching an 11-month-old baby alongside the child's mother, he encouraged another obsessed fan to abuse her own child during a webcam chat.
Police also found that Watkins secretly stashed child porn on computer hard drives and made his own videos.
Watkins previously insisted he was innocent and would fight until his last breath to clear his name.
His fans also rallied around him but were left in shock when he pleaded guilty to 13 offences on the day the jury was due to be sworn in at Cardiff Crown Court.
Watkins was told that any decent person would 'experience shock, revulsion and anger' at the crimes
PAEDOPHILE'S COMPUTER HAD MORE STORAGE THAN POLICE
Paedophile rockstar Ian Watkins had more computer data than the police force who investigated his evil crimes, it emerged today.
The
shamed Lostprophets singer stored depraved images on dozens of laptops
and hard drives - giving him a massive 27 terabytes of storage.
Police
had to search through his huge banks of computer storage to find his
sick child porn stash - then turned to the Government's top computer
specialists at GCHQ to crack his encryption codes.
Detective
Super Inspector Peter Doyle, who led the investigation, said: 'Watkins'
data storage size was 27 terabytes - which is five times the size of
South Wales Police systems in storage capacity.
'Not all of it was illegal material - but if you need 27 terabytes then you're clearly into that kind of world.'
Watkins, of Pontypridd, South Wales, spent a lot of his Lostprophet's fortune on 'computing and multimedia devices'.
The singer used his technology to record music and design his band's album art and tour posters.
But he also kept indecent images of children including a video of him attempting to rape a baby.
Watkins tried to cover his tracks by using off-site 'cloud' storage - he also used passwords including one: 'If***kids'.
But it was cracked by GCHQ.
Ms O'Neill said Watkins - who has been on suicide watch every 15 minutes while on remand - had no memory of the incident and was 'deeply sorry and ashamed' when realising what he had done.
She also sought to downplay Watkins' 'mega lolz' comments - which she described as 'bravado'.
'He was at a very low ebb and under considerable stress,' she added.
She also handed over letters from Watkins' family and friends which described him as 'kind, gentle, considerate and talented man'.
It was also her case that the two female co-defendants were equally to blame for the abuse that was carried out.
Her defence barrister Christine Laing described her as ‘a very immature young woman suffering from undiagnosed personality disorder and exceptionally lonely’
‘She couldn’t believe he was giving her attention. She was hooked on the excitement.’
The guilty pleas spared a jury the need to sit through a harrowing 17-minute video of Watkins abusing a baby.
The abuse is thought to be so widespread that investigating officers have since launched a nationwide appeal for other potential victims to come forward - and are pursuing new leads after receiving a flurry of calls.
Prosecutor Christopher Clee QC said last month: 'Ian Watkins was the lead singer of a successful band called the Lostprophets.
'He was also a determined and committed paedophile engaged in serious sex offences involving two babies.'
Mr Clee read to the court a series of text and internet messages between Watkins and two female co-defendants.
Catrin Evans, head of the complex casework unit at Crown Prosecution Service Wales, said the three defendants' actions demonstrated sexual exploitation at its worst.
'A number of the victims are too young to be able to understand what has happened to them, yet the defendants exploited them for their own gratification,' she said.
Watkins admitted two counts of attempted rape and sexual assault by touching Woman A's baby.
Watkins was dated Fearne Cotton (pictured together in 2008) and Alexa Chung
He also admitted two conspiracy charges: aiding and abetting Woman B to sexually abuse her own child.
Watkins also pleaded guilty to possessing and making indecent photographs of children, as well as having extreme pornographic material involving bestiality on his computer hard drive.
Woman A, 21, admitted six offences and Woman B, 25, pleaded guilty to seven offences.
According to sentencing guidelines, the starting point for attempted rape is 15 years custody.
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 lists an aggravating factor as 'the extreme youth' of a victim.
Prison sentences of longer than 30 months for sex offenders mean they will be on the sex offenders register for the rest of their life.
In October the remaining members of multiplatinum-selling act Lostprophets said the group had split up.
After Watkins's guilty plea, ex-bandmates Luke Johnson, Jamie Oliver, Lee Gaze, Stuart Richardson and Mike Lewis released a statement condemning his behaviour.
'Many of you, understandably, want to know if we knew what Ian was doing. To be clear: We did not,' they said.
'We knew that Ian was a difficult character. Our personal relationships with him had deteriorated in recent years to a point that working together was a constant, miserable challenge.
'But despite his battles with drugs, his egotistic behaviour and the resulting fractures and frustrations within our band, we never imagined him capable of behaviour of the type he has now admitted.
'We are heartbroken, angry and disgusted at what has been revealed.
'Our hearts go out to Ian's family, the fans and friends he betrayed and, most importantly, the victims of his crimes and others like them.
'We hope for justice but also that Ian will truly take responsibility for what he's done.
'We would urge any other victims to contact the authorities.'
'It is difficult to imagine anything much worse': Emotional judge describes nature of Watkins' 'horrific' sexual abuse
In shock: Judge Justice Royce said yesterday the horrific Watkins case 'broke new ground' and appeared emotional as he described the abuse
The judge of sentenced singer Ian Watkins appeared emotional as he described how he had dealt with many horrific cases but this one 'broke new ground'.
Justice Royce told Cardiff Crown Court 'Any decent person look at and listening to the material here will experience shock, revulsion, anger and incredulity'.
The shocked jury and gallery were told in detail what Watkins, Woman A and Woman B had done to the children, who are now in care.
'What you three did plumbs new depths of depravity,' the judge said.
Watkins, described as a 'determined and committed paedophile', was wearing a grey three-piece suit with a thin red tie and his grey hair was styled in a quiff.
Judge Royce told him: 'You achieved fame and success as the lead singer of the Lostprophets - you had fawning fans and that gave you power,
'You knew you could use that power to induce young female fans to help satisfy your apparently insatiable lust and to take part in the sexual abuse of their young children.
'Away from the highlights of your public performances lay a dark and sinister side.'
Perverted Watkins and one of the mothers filmed a horrific attack on an 11 month-old baby boy involving a series of terrible sex acts.
The judge said: 'The planning and graphic detail are bad enough, the videoing of what you are both doing is an aggravating factor, the enjoyment both of you can be seen to derive from what you are doing is both sickening and incompressible.
'In all it is a dreadful catalogue of abuse of a previously innocent boy to satisfy your own interests and lust'.
The judge turned to Watkins' relationship with Woman B saying he had used her child not as a human being but simply as a sexual object their for your pleasure.
He said: 'The two of you agreed the little girl should be raped by Watkins and you both intended that should take place.
'You, Watkins initiated and orchestrated the appalling abuse.'
The judge said Watkins had a 'desire to shock and a craving to push sexual boundaries.'
He said: 'This craving was fuelled by your use of cocaine and methamphetamine which increased your sexual aggression.
'You spoke of not knowing to what extremes you would have gone but for your arrest.
'It is difficult to imagine anything much worse.
'I have no hesitation in concluding there is a significant risk to the public in particular to young females and children.
'In my judgement justice and protection of the public can and should be achieved by such a very long sentence.'
Serial offender: After the sentencing DCI Peter Doyle, the senior investigating officer, said Watkins had 'shown no empathy, no sympathy or any remorse'
Summing up, the judge told him: 'Watkins, you are aged 36 and have no previous convictions. Your mitigation is your late plea. I also take into account that, through your offences over the last six years, you have lost a valued position with your group.
'I also take note of the letters written on your behalf from those who know a different side of you.'
In relation to all three, he said he was taking into account a series of sentencing guidelines.
They were the planning, the graphic detail of the offending, the deliberate targeting of a vulnerable victim, carrying out the offence with another person, and, in the case of the two women, the abuse of trust.
On his release in around 20 years' time he would normally have been on licence for the remainder of the 29-year term.
The judge, however, added an additional six years on licence and told him: 'Your total sentence, therefore, is one of 35 years.'
Pervert Watkins injected mother with heroin for his own 'sexual gratification'
Perverted: One of the mothers allowed Watkins to inject her with heroin before allowing to try to rape her baby
One of the mothers who allowed her child to be abused by Watkins also let him inject her with heroin for his own 'sexual gratification', the court heard today,
The 21-year-old woman committed the greatest betrayal a mother could do, the judge told her after giving her 14 years in jail.
The obsessed fan was almost half Watkins' age when she first met the singer in around 2008.
She and Watkins began a sexual relationship and the rocker filmed their sex sessions when she was just aged 16.
When the woman fell pregnant by another man, Watkins soon ditched the groupie - knowing full well there were plenty of other girls who demand his attention.
However, after her relationship with her child's father broke down she got back in contact with Watkins - and his manipulation of her became even more sinister.
Between March and April last year, the pair plotted together how they planned to abuse her baby.
And what Watkins tried to dismiss as just 'fantasy', became reality when he and the woman sexually abused the child when it was just 11 months old.
Mr Justice Royce said: 'That you were manipulated by Watkins may be obvious, but you were a mother. A mother naturally loves, protects, shields, nurtures and cherishes. Your infant would have trusted you implicitly. You totally betrayed that trust.
'Could there be a greater betrayal?'
The Judge said a psychiatric report said Woman A did not appear to be suffering from a mental illness at the time she carried out the abuse.
He also acknowledged her guilty plea to the six offences she had been charged with. They included aiding and abetting Watkins to try and have full sex with the child. She also pleaded guilty to sexually touching the child.
In mitigation Woman A's barrister Jonathan Fuller disputed an argument by Watkins that she was as equally responsible as him.
He said that his client had been 'corrupted' by Watkins.
'He darkened her world with drugs and even injected her with heroin to facilitate his sexual gratification,' said Mr Fuller.
'She sacrificed her own moral compass so she could sustain a relationship with a man she was obsessed with'.
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Comments (2017)
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Please spare a thought for the poor parents. From my own very close experience ( although made news headlines, it was nothing compared to this) but until it happens in your family you do not realise the pain, heartache and embarrassment of every member of the family as you struggle to come to terms with what has happened and wonder how you did not notice anything going on..
they should lock him up and throw away the key absolutely disgusting and vile. Whoever comments on this article saying the punishment is too harsh seriously need to revaluate there moral beliefs. I hope he rots in hell.
and were where the fathers of the children or is this just another group of women who have been left alone to care for their children which gave them the opportunity to then abuse them i feel sorry for these little
Mr and Mrs Davies don't deserve any of this. They are good people who are devastated at the monster their son has become. Watkins, on the other hand, is the master of his own downfall and has wrecked countless lives. Save your hatred for him, he is the one who deserves it.
I am sure there will be queue of people in prison who would quite happily step-in for his step father.¿¿
What a vile discusting scumbag. I feel for his victims and his parents. And as for the the ex who apparently reported him - she's a complete wrong un. He showed her a video of abuse yet she later rekindled their relationship because she thought she was 'wrong' about him. I hope she doesn't have any children ....
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Juliet, JustSaying..., 3 hours ago
Let us all remember that if the police had listened to the lady who told them what he was like, these babies would have been spared. I think a huge portion of blame lies with the police and heads should roll.