Who is Ian Watkins and why is he in prison?

Former Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins was reportedly rushed to hospital in a critical condition after being stabbed by fellow inmates at HMP Wakefield.

The disgraced rock star was sentenced to 29 years in prison in December 2013, with a further six years on par, after admitting a string of child sex offences, including the attempted rape of a child fan.

He was taken hostage by three other inmates on Saturday morning, a source told The Mirror, with a prison service spokesman saying police were investigating.

As reports of Watkins’ depraved crimes first emerged in 2012, his bandmates said they were in a “state of shock”, adding that they were “broken, angry and disgusted” when he later pleaded guilty.

The case also raised questions about how Watkins, 46, managed to get away with the abuse for so long, with a watchdog later finding that police had missed several opportunities to stop him.

Read more: Disgraced Ian Watkins stabbed in prison ‘while held hostage for six hours’

Here, Yahoo News takes a look at the aftermath of Ian Watkins’ murders and the reaction of his bandmates and devastated parents.

Who is Ian Watkins?

Ian David Karslake Watkins was born in 1977 in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales and later moved to Pontypridd where he attended Hawthorn High School.

There, the church minister’s son was an A-level student and good friends with Mike Lewis, his future bandmate. He later graduated from the University of Wales, Newport with a first class degree in graphic design.

Watch: Ian Watkins reportedly fighting for life after being stabbed by inmates

Lostprophets (originally called Lozt Prophetz) formed in 1997 and began to gain popularity in 2000 following the release of their critically acclaimed album The Fake Sound of Progress.

It was the height of the nu-metal era, with the band supporting several big names including Linkin Park and Deftones with their performance at Reading Festival in 2001, boosting their popularity to new heights.

Lostprophets would go on to release five studio albums, sell over 3.5 million albums worldwide and achieve two top 10 singles in the UK charts and a number one single in the US Alternative Songs chart.

Early in his career, Watkins seemed to refuse to drink or do drugs, but at some point he became addicted, using cocaine, crack cocaine, crystal meth, and heroin.

Music journalist Gavin Allen told the BBC how he became increasingly isolated from the band, staying in separate hotel rooms and traveling in different cars during the tour.

Describing him as having changed from a “good boy” to “detached” around 2007, he said: “In retrospect, it seems he hid his behavior from the rest of the band.”

Watkins also became obsessed with extreme online pornography and images of abuse, and it later emerged that he also groomed young mothers to abuse their children.

The Ian Watkins Murders

Watkins was arrested following a drugs raid at his home in Pontypridd on 21 September 2012, when a number of computers, mobile phones and storage devices were seized.

This was when the true extent of the performer’s depraved behavior began to emerge. The singer used encryption tools to try to cover up his track, GCHQ called in to crack the password on his laptop.

Describing the singer’s extensive collection of images depicting child abuse and bestiality, Detective Superintendent Peter Doyle, who led the investigation, said: “Watkins’ data storage size was 27 terabytes – which is five times the storage capacity of South Wales Police systems. “

During Watkins’ trial it was heard that he would groom his young female fans to sexually abuse his children and also persuade them to commit abuse at his behest.

Read more: Self-proclaimed “pedophile hunter” who spray-painted “nonce” on vehicle admits wrongdoing

In a text message to one victim’s mother, the singer said: “If you belong to me, so does your child.”

A fan transcript of the conversation showed Watkins saying he would issue a statement after his sentencing, saying his crimes were “mega lolz” – a variation of “lol”, meaning “laugh out loud”.

Watkins initially denied all 23 charges against him after his arrest in December 2012, including allegations that he raped an 11-month-old child.

However, when his trial began, he eventually admitted to 13 offenses over five years, including attempted child rape.

Watkins also admitted conspiracy to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven counts involving indecent images of children and one count of possessing an image involving a sexual act on an animal.

Read more: A drug dealer found asleep in a McDonald’s parking lot with his engine running

He was sentenced to 29 years in prison in December 2013, with a further six years on licence. Two co-defendants, mothers who aided in the abuse, received prison terms of 14 and 17 years.

In 2019, Watkins was given an additional 10 months after it was discovered that he had a mobile phone in prison illegally.

According to The Sun, Watkins groomed a 21-year-old mother from his prison cell, first meeting her when she was 16 in a series of letters. The newspaper says the woman’s two-year-old daughter was later taken into care when authorities were alerted.

“Missed Opportunities”

Six people came forward to make allegations about Watkins in the four years before his arrest, according to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) watchdog.

The pedophile’s ex-girlfriend, Joanne Mjadzelics, took a laptop to Doncaster police station three times between March and May 2012, but South Yorkshire Police officers failed to examine it.

After an investigation, the IPCC concluded that three officers had a case to answer for gross misconduct, but as each had retired after 30 years of service, no further action could be taken.

Read more: Rachel Tunstill: Mother who killed newborn with scissors dies in prison

“The evidence suggests that there was a general view among officers at Doncaster that Ms Mjadzelics was not to be taken seriously and as a result the investigations did not proceed as they should have,” said IPCC Commissioner Jan Williams.

“It is concerning that a neighborhood police officer with no specific training or support, rather than an officer from a specialist team, should see and judge a potential image of child sexual abuse. South Yorkshire Police did not handle a request for assistance. from South Wales Police carefully.”

Bandmates left ‘angry and disgusted’

In a statement responding to Watkins’ murders, the other members of the now-disbanded Lostprophets said they were heartbroken, angry and disgusted and said they had no prior knowledge of his abuse.

In a statement on the band’s Facebook page, Mike Lewis, Jamie Oliver, Luke Johnson, Lee Gaze and Stuart Richardson said: “Earlier this week we learned that the allegations of child sexual abuse against Ian were true and that he won’t be. contesting them in court.

“Until then, we found it extremely hard to believe and hoped it was all a mistake. Unfortunately, the true extent of his appalling behavior is now impossible to deny. Many of you want to know if we know what Ian is doing. To be clear: I didn’t.

“I knew Ian was a difficult character. Our personal relationship with him had deteriorated over the past few years to the point where working together was a constant, miserable challenge.

Read more: Man who spent 17 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit won’t have to pay prison living costs

“But despite his battles with drugs, his selfish behavior and the resulting fractures and frustrations within our band, we never imagined he was capable of the kind of behavior he has now admitted to.

“We are heartbroken, angry and disgusted by what has been revealed. This is something that will haunt us for the rest of our lives.

“Being in a band has always been a labor of love and a platform to inspire people, not to take advantage of them. It’s still hard to believe that this is happening and that someone I was once so close to has destroyed so many lives by lying. every step of the way.

“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 has done . I urge any other victims to contact the authorities.”

Where did I go wrong?

Watkins’ parents struggled to come to terms with the actions of their son, who they said grew up as a “normal happy boy” with “no more problems than anyone else has.”

The church’s pastor John Davies and his wife Elaine told the Daily Mail in 2013 how he was “loved, cherished, encouraged and nurtured”.

“It’s so hard. It’s overwhelming. It’s affected every aspect of our lives,” Watkins’ father said, adding: “It’s the first thing a parent asks — where did I go wrong? What happened?

“We’ll do our best to support him and hope he gets better, that’s all we can do.”