What did Lostprophets’ Ian Watkins actually do? A full list of his vile child-related crimes

Lostprophets’ lead singer, Ian Watkins, was killed in prison earlier this week as he was serving 29 years in HMP Wakefield for a range of abhorrent child-related offences. Rico Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, were arrested for the singer’s murder, and a trial date has now been set for May 2026.

On Saturday, West Yorkshire Police said in a statement: “At 9.39 am this morning (Saturday), police were called by staff at HMP Wakefield reporting an assault on a prisoner. Emergency services attended, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.”

Credit: South Wales Police

Considering Ian Watkins was jailed back in 2013, a lot of Gen Z aren’t necessarily familiar with the case and the 13 child s*x offences he admitted to. Here they are, but trigger warning:

The rest of this article contains details on rape and sexual assault that you may find distressing. There are mentions of child s*x offences. 

Ian Watkins was first arrested in 2012

Credit: Huw John/Shutterstock

Back in 2012, the home of Lostprophets’ Ian Watkins was raided on drug-related charges after rumours of him smuggling cocaine and methamphetamine to the UK from Los Angeles. Police confiscated laptops and electronic devices, many of which contained explicit images of children and videos of rape.

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Upon further investigation, it emerged that Ian had brainwashed loyal fans into abusing their own kids for him. Two women in their 20s, who remained unnamed in the investigation, were planning to make their kids available to Ian for sex. The court also heard that one of the women offered him a “summer of child p*rn”, to which he responded: “Hell yes, baby.”

During his trial, where the “determined and committed paedophile” was facing 24 s*x-related charges, Ian pleaded guilty to 13. Among them were the attempted rape of a fan’s baby, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children, and one of possessing extreme p*rnographic images involving a s*x act on an animal. He also admitted to the attempted rape of a child under 13, but pleaded not guilty to rape.

“I am satisfied that you are a deeply corrupting influence, you are highly manipulative, you are a s*xual predator, you are dangerous,” Mr Justice Royce said at the time.

The two women who sought to abuse their own kids for him also recieved jail time, with Woman A getting 14 years and Woman B 17. Of course, Ian Watkins was jailed for 29 years, but his crimes did not stop there. An IPCC report later uncovered years of reported s*x crimes dating back to 2008, but police failed to act on them.

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Featured image credit: Cardiff Crown Court/West Yorkshire Police