Ian Watkins (Lostprophets)

Ian David Karslake Watkins (born 30 July 1977) is a Welsh former singer who was best known as the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Lostprophets. His career ended after he was sentenced to 29 years imprisonment in 2013 for multiple sex offences, including the sexual assault of young children and infants, and the possession of "extreme" child and animal pornographic material, a sentence later increased by ten months for having a mobile phone in prison. His bandmates disbanded Lostprophets shortly after his conviction and formed No Devotion with American singer Geoff Rickly.

Early life

Ian David Karslake Watkins was born on 30July 1977 in Merthyr Tydfil. 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. Watkins grew up listening to mostly American rock and metal artists, and in 2004 mentioned the band Faith No More as his biggest influence.

Career

As teenagers, Lewis's and Watkins' mutual enjoyment of rock and metal music strengthened their friendship. In 1991, they formed Aftermath, a thrash metal band that played in a shed in Watkins's garden. Aftermath never recorded any material. 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.

In a 2002 interview, following the release of Lostprophets' debut album ''The Fake Sound of Progress'', Watkins cited the band's concert at the Cardiff Coal Exchange in December 2001 as a crucial moment in their timeline, stating "It was incredible. It was only a few months before that that we played the Barfly. That was cool, but then to play the Coal Exchange (and we were like, isn't it a bit big) and then to have it sell out in advance... It's really nice to play your hometown to a sold-out venue and a crowd that's really into it, I guess. It was nice, it was really cool since we've been playing every venue we can in Cardiff for years. Everybody who's been around on the scene knows who we are and it was nice to have that kind of recognition."

In 2003, Watkins was featured on the Hoobastank song " Out of Control" along with Jamie Oliver, who was by then a member of Lostprophets.

In 2006, speaking at the Welsh Pop Factory awards ceremony in Cardiff following lostprophets winning three awards, including "Best Welsh Band", Watkins stated that "to win best band in the best country in the world is wicked".

On New Year's Eve 2008, Watkins took part in a concert for Kidney Wales Foundation and stated that his reasons for being involved were as a result of his mother needing a kidney transplant: "Having that direct experience is why I wanted to get more involved with Kidney Wales and organise a fundraising concert on New Year's Eve." The concert featured Welsh bands the Blackout, Kids in Glass Houses, and Attack! Attack!.

Watkins was also featured on the Blackout's song "It's High Tide Baby!" from their debut studio album '' We Are the Dynamite'' (2007), and also accompanied them on tour.

In 2009, Watkins started a remixing side project called "L'Amour La Morgue". He released 17 remixes by artists such as the Killers, Beyoncé, Young Guns, Tears for Fears, and Bring Me the Horizon. He also released a free mixtape, which was available online, along with a free download of a song that was premiered at a fashion show in 2008.

Lostprophets released five studio albums: ''The Fake Sound of Progress'' (2000), ''Start Something'' (2004), ''Liberation Transmission'' (2006), '' The Betrayed'' (2010), and ''Weapons'' (2012). They toured extensively in Europe and America, playing shows such as the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2004, 2007, 2009, and 2010.

As time went on, Watkins distanced himself from the other band members, spending much of his time at his residence in Wales during their off-time, while the rest of his bandmates resided in Los Angeles. Tension grew between him and the band. Bassist Stuart Richardson recalled during a December 2019 interview that the tensions escalated into an altercation with Watkins after he failed to report for a show:

Sexual offences and criminal activity

Watkins' abuse and misconduct with children was reported as early as 2008 to South Wales Police, though the authorities repeatedly failed to act upon any of the leads. This included both sexual abuse and giving drugs to children (including cocaine). Watkins' former bandmates claimed they were unaware of his conduct with children, as his drug use had begun to cause heavy strain on his relationship with them. Watkins had requested his own private dressing room away from the other five band members, where much of his abuse of children allegedly took place. Watkins had also chosen to minimize personal contact with most of his bandmates.

Joanne Mjadzelics, an ex-girlfriend of Watkins, recalls him displaying multiple graphic images with minors or drug paraphernalia as early as 2010. Appalled by the content, Mjadzelics had made multiple complaints to South Wales Police, though very little action was taken at the time. Mjadzelics was one of six people who had spoken to the police in regards to Watkins' conduct from 2008 to 2011. In 2010, an Australian woman had also come forward accusing Watkins of assaulting her child, though the allegations were not investigated any further by authorities. During the recording of the band's fourth studio album, '' The Betrayed'', in 2009, Mjadzelics was made aware by Watkins that he was abusing a two-year-old child in California whilst the band was recording in Los Angeles. Mjadzelics contacted the child's parents, who had also reported him to Welsh authorities (child sex offences committed by British nationals are crimes of extraterritorial jurisdiction in England and Wales), though again, no further action was taken to investigate the matter.

Arrest and conviction

Watkins was first apprehended in June 2012 in connection with various drug charges, and he was granted bail shortly afterwards. Watkins had already attracted attention from Welsh law enforcement after several friends reported that he was regularly smuggling cocaine and methamphetamine from Los Angeles. He was arrested again on 4 November, for drug possession, and a separate allegation that he possessed an obscene image of a child. He pleaded not guilty to the charges of possessing explicit material, shortly after being granted bail yet again. Watkins performed his final show with Lostprophets on 14 November 2012 in Newport, Wales. He was arrested for a third time on 17 December 2012 on another drug possession charge. South Wales Police immediately conducted a search of his home and computer in connection to their prior investigation. During the search, officers discovered numerous indecent images of children stored on his computer. On 19 December, he was charged at Cardiff magistrates court with conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a one-year-old girl and possession and/or distribution of indecent images of children and "extreme animal pornography". He was remanded in custody, as were his two female co-accused. His barrister said Watkins would deny the accusations. On 31 December, he appeared at Cardiff Crown Court via video link from HM Prison Parc in Bridgend, and was remanded in custody until 11 March 2013. The case was adjourned until May, with the trial date set for 15 July. At a hearing on 3 June, he denied all charges via a video link.

On 6 June 2013, it was announced that the trial would start on 25 November and was expected to last a month. A previous application for the court venue to be moved outside Wales was denied. On 26 November, 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; six counts of taking, making, or possessing indecent images of children; and one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal. His victims included a baby boy, and he sent a text message to the mother of one victim that said, "If you belong to me, so does your baby." The South Wales Police investigation into Watkins, codenamed "Operation Globe", required the co-operation of GCHQ to decrypt a hidden drive on his laptop, which was found to contain video evidence of his abuses. Investigators later bypassed the encrypted password to Watkins' laptop, noting that it read "I FUK KIDZ". On 27 November, the day after his guilty plea had been accepted by the prosecution, Watkins referred to his sex offences as "mega lolz" in a recorded phone call to a female fan made from HM Prison Parc.

A sentencing hearing was held at Cardiff on 18 December 2013. In mitigation, Watkins's barrister, Sally O'Neill QC, said that Watkins had no recollection of the case involving the attempted rape, but had "belatedly realised the gravity of what happened" after having developed an "obsession" with videoing himself having sex. Mr Justice Royce sentenced Watkins to 29 years in prison, with eligibility to apply for parole in 2031 after serving two-thirds of his prison term, followed by six years of supervised release. His two co-defendants, the mothers of his victims, respectively received sentences of 14 and 17 years imprisonment. The judge said the case "plunged into new depths of depravity". 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 was transferred from HM Prison Parc, where he had been incarcerated while on remand, to HM Prison Wakefield to begin serving his sentence. In order to be closer to his mother after she had a kidney transplant, he was transferred to HM Prison Long Lartin on 25 January 2014. On 9 October 2017, Watkins was accused of grooming a young mother from prison through a series of letters. As of March 2018, he was back at Wakefield.

Aftermath

An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation report published in summer 2016 said that three detectives from the South Wales force should face disciplinary action after they failed to act on earlier allegations of abuse by Watkins from 2008 onward.

A further IPCC report, published in August 2017, found that police had failed a number of times from 2008 to 2012 to act on reports of Watkins' behaviour, quoting a detective who said that taking action against Watkins would draw "huge publicity" and that "due to his fame" Watkins had "a number of fans and ex-girlfriends making allegations that when investigated are false". The report concluded:

South Wales Police Assistant Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan said his force "entirely accepts and regrets" the findings of the report.

Possession of mobile phone in prison

In March 2018, Watkins was found with a mobile phone. He was accused of using the phone to maintain contact with a girlfriend outside prison, but denied the charge, claiming it did not belong to him but to two inmates who forced him to hide it for them; he refused to give names, citing fear of violent retribution. A charger for the phone was also found in his cell. Watkins claimed he still received fan mail from Lostprophets fans and that the men wanted him to help them take advantage of the women writing in as a "revenue stream". After a five-day trial at Leeds Crown Court in August 2019, he was convicted and sentenced to a further ten months in prison, to run consecutively with his existing sentence. Watkins reportedly paid a Liverpool-based gang member £1000 for access to the mobile device; upon being caught with the phone in custody, this amount increased to £5000.

Hostage incident and stabbing

On the morning of 5 August 2023, Watkins was taken hostage by three other inmates at HM Prison Wakefield and stabbed, and was freed by prison officers six hours later. Police later confirmed his injuries were not life-threatening. It was later claimed that the motive for the attack was an unsettled £900 drugs debt with another prisoner whilst in custody, with the makeshift weapon being a sharpened toilet brush. Watkins is reported to have "spent his time buying both protection and friendships" from other inmates after the attack, through bank transfers co-ordinated by his and the inmates' families and associates.

Discography

Public Disturbance

* ''4-Way Tie Up'' (1997)
* ''UKHC Compilation'' (1997)
* ''Victim of Circumstance'' (1998)

Lostprophets

* ''The Fake Sound of Progress'' (2000)
* ''Start Something'' (2004)
* ''Liberation Transmission'' (2006)
* '' The Betrayed'' (2010)
* ''Weapons'' (2012)

References

Further reading

The Honourable Mr Justice Royce; Between: ''The Queen V Ian Watkins & B & P'' – Judiciary Court DocumentationArchive


IPCC investigations

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Ian
1977 births
20th-century Welsh male singers
21st-century Welsh criminals
21st-century Welsh male singers
British alternative rock singers
Alumni of the University of Wales, Newport
British alternative rock musicians
Welsh lyricists
British criminals
British people convicted of attempted rape
British people convicted of sexual assault
British stabbing survivors
Living people
Lostprophets members
Nu metal singers
People convicted of sex crimes
People educated at Hawthorn High School
People from Merthyr Tydfil
People from Pontypridd
Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales
Welsh people convicted of child sexual abuse
Welsh prisoners and detainees
Welsh rapists
Welsh rock singers
Welsh male singer-songwriters
Welsh people convicted of child pornography offences