The former leader singer of Welsh rock band Lostprophets has been jailed for 35 years today for child sex offences, including against two babies.
Mr Justice Royce at Cardiff Crown Court told Watkins, 36, that he will have to serve 29 years without parole and the remaining six years on licence. He will be in his mid sixties when he is released.
His two co-defendants, who were MOTHERS of two of the abused children, were jailed for 14 and 17 years. One of them gave Watkins her young son to abuse and the other gave him his young daughter.
Watkins admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 but pleaded not guilty to rape.
Police said Ian Watkins used his celebrity status to abuse young children.
He also admitted conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal.
Watkins also held a massive amount of child born on his computer. The amount of data involved - 27 terabytes - was FIVE time the size of the databases held by the entire South Wales Police. 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 (Britain's equivalent of the NSA) to crack his encryption codes.
During sentencing, Mr Justice Royce said the case "plunged into new depths of depravity".
Meanwhile, South Wales Police are investigating whether Watkins also committed offences in Germany and America and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has confirmed it was investigating three police forces over the case.
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.'
It was revealed during the trial that Watkins would book into hotel rooms after performing with the band to sexually abuse children.
Lostprophets' Ian Watkins sentenced to 35 years over child sex offences
Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins accepted he was a 'determined and committed paedophile'
Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins has been sentenced to 35 years for child sex offences including the attempted rape of a baby.
Watkins, 36, from Pontypridd, pleaded guilty to 13 child sex offences at Cardiff Crown Court in November.
He will spend 29 years of his sentence in jail with a further six years on licence.
His two co-defendants, mothers of the abused children, were also jailed for 14 and 17 years.
Speaking before he sentenced the three defendants, Mr Justice Royce said the case broke "new ground" and "plunged into new depths of depravity".
Watkins, who will be eligible for parole after serving two thirds of his prison term, was sentenced alongside the two women known as Woman A and Woman B who also pleaded guilty to child abuse charges.
Woman A was jailed for 14 years and Woman B was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Watkins admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 but pleaded not guilty to rape.
Prosecution: Cardiff Crown Court heard that Watkins was 'a determined and committed paedophile engaged in serious sex offences involving of two babies'
He also admitted conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal.
During sentencing, Mr Justice Royce said the case "plunged into new depths of depravity".
"Those who have appeared in these courts over many years, see here, a large number of horrific cases," he said.
"This case breaks new ground. Any decent person... will experience shock, revulsion and incredulity."
He added it was a "classic case that the evidence was so overwhelming" there should not be credit given.
The judge said Watkins had a "corrupting influence", and had shown a "complete lack of remorse". He also said Watkins posed a significant risk to the public in particular to women with young children.
He told Woman A: "What you were both doing is both sickening and incomprehensible" and said to Woman B that she did not regard her child as a human being.
Earlier on Wednesday, defending barrister Sally O'Neill QC told how Watkins "belatedly realised the gravity of what happened" and was "deeply, deeply sorry".
South Wales Police Det Ch Insp Peter Doyle said his officers were working with police in Germany and the US
She told the court how he had developed an "obsession" with filming himself having sex and had become addicted to drugs at the age of 30.
She said Watkins had no memory of the crime involving Woman A and her son, where he admitted to the attempted rape of a baby.
"Because he had no memory he could not believe he had done that," she said, adding he had now "confronted reality" over what he had done.
Watkins was on 15-minute suicide watch while on remand, the court heard.
Jonathan Fuller QC, defending for Woman A, said she felt genuine remorse and was devastated by what she had done.
Joanne Mjedzelics says she repeatedly reported Watkins to police
Christine Laing QC, defending Woman B, said she was clearly remorseful for her behaviour and the loss of her child was her punishment.
Meanwhile, South Wales Police are investigating whether Watkins also committed offences in Germany and America and the IPCC has confirmed it was investigating three police forces over the case.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle, senior investigating officer, said the sentences reflected the gravity of the crimes and the investigation uncovered "the most disturbing child abuse evidence" he had seen in his 28 years as an officer.
"Today's sentence does not mark the end of our investigations and we will work tirelessly to identify any other victims or witnesses and seek the justice they deserve.
"In the last few weeks we have received further information that will now be looked at by the investigation team."
Earlier he said the investigation was large scale because the amount of data involved - 27 terabytes - was "four or five times" the size of the databases held by South Wales Police.
And he said how he was sure there were other child victims.
Suzanne Thomas, Senior Crown Prosecutor at CPS Wales, said Watkins was the ringleader and the defendants conspired to commit "appalling crimes of abuse against young and defenceless victims".
She added: "He is a highly dangerous and manipulative individual who preyed on his victims in a calculated manner.
"The other two defendants were active participants in the most shocking abuse of their own children. They too have received sentences that reflect their admissions of guilt for these offences.
"It is incomprehensible that adults would commit such appalling acts against children and young people and our thoughts remain with the victims and those close to them."
Watkins with his former bandmates, who have urged other victims to come forward
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.'
IPCC INVESTIGATION
Police watchdog the IPCC is investigating three forces over their handling of allegations made about Ian Watkins between 2008-2012.
South Yorkshire, Bedfordshire and South Wales are being investigated over information received about Watkins prior to his arrest in December 2012.
Three other forces, Essex, West Yorkshire and the Metropolitan Police, also supplied information that they had been given about Watkins for the inquiry but are not currently under investigation.
An officer from South Wales is the focus of the IPCC probe there.
Three reports were made to South Yorkshire between March and May 2012 relating to Watkins.
A member of the public reported an allegation of child abuse against Watkins in October 2012 to Bedfordshire Police.
PAEDOPHILE'S COMPUTER HAD MORE STORAGE THAN POLICE
GCHQ
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 Lostprophets' 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.
BBC News - Lostprophets' Ian Watkins sentenced to 35 years over child sex offences
Mr Justice Royce at Cardiff Crown Court told Watkins, 36, that he will have to serve 29 years without parole and the remaining six years on licence. He will be in his mid sixties when he is released.
His two co-defendants, who were MOTHERS of two of the abused children, were jailed for 14 and 17 years. One of them gave Watkins her young son to abuse and the other gave him his young daughter.
Watkins admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 but pleaded not guilty to rape.
Police said Ian Watkins used his celebrity status to abuse young children.
He also admitted conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal.
Watkins also held a massive amount of child born on his computer. The amount of data involved - 27 terabytes - was FIVE time the size of the databases held by the entire South Wales Police. 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 (Britain's equivalent of the NSA) to crack his encryption codes.
During sentencing, Mr Justice Royce said the case "plunged into new depths of depravity".
Meanwhile, South Wales Police are investigating whether Watkins also committed offences in Germany and America and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has confirmed it was investigating three police forces over the case.
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.'
It was revealed during the trial that Watkins would book into hotel rooms after performing with the band to sexually abuse children.
Lostprophets' Ian Watkins sentenced to 35 years over child sex offences
Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins accepted he was a 'determined and committed paedophile'
Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins has been sentenced to 35 years for child sex offences including the attempted rape of a baby.
Watkins, 36, from Pontypridd, pleaded guilty to 13 child sex offences at Cardiff Crown Court in November.
He will spend 29 years of his sentence in jail with a further six years on licence.
His two co-defendants, mothers of the abused children, were also jailed for 14 and 17 years.
Speaking before he sentenced the three defendants, Mr Justice Royce said the case broke "new ground" and "plunged into new depths of depravity".
Watkins, who will be eligible for parole after serving two thirds of his prison term, was sentenced alongside the two women known as Woman A and Woman B who also pleaded guilty to child abuse charges.
Woman A was jailed for 14 years and Woman B was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Watkins admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 but pleaded not guilty to rape.
He also admitted conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal.
During sentencing, Mr Justice Royce said the case "plunged into new depths of depravity".
"Those who have appeared in these courts over many years, see here, a large number of horrific cases," he said.
"This case breaks new ground. Any decent person... will experience shock, revulsion and incredulity."
He added it was a "classic case that the evidence was so overwhelming" there should not be credit given.
The judge said Watkins had a "corrupting influence", and had shown a "complete lack of remorse". He also said Watkins posed a significant risk to the public in particular to women with young children.
He told Woman A: "What you were both doing is both sickening and incomprehensible" and said to Woman B that she did not regard her child as a human being.
Earlier on Wednesday, defending barrister Sally O'Neill QC told how Watkins "belatedly realised the gravity of what happened" and was "deeply, deeply sorry".
South Wales Police Det Ch Insp Peter Doyle said his officers were working with police in Germany and the US
She told the court how he had developed an "obsession" with filming himself having sex and had become addicted to drugs at the age of 30.
She said Watkins had no memory of the crime involving Woman A and her son, where he admitted to the attempted rape of a baby.
"Because he had no memory he could not believe he had done that," she said, adding he had now "confronted reality" over what he had done.
Watkins was on 15-minute suicide watch while on remand, the court heard.
Jonathan Fuller QC, defending for Woman A, said she felt genuine remorse and was devastated by what she had done.
Joanne Mjedzelics says she repeatedly reported Watkins to police
Christine Laing QC, defending Woman B, said she was clearly remorseful for her behaviour and the loss of her child was her punishment.
Meanwhile, South Wales Police are investigating whether Watkins also committed offences in Germany and America and the IPCC has confirmed it was investigating three police forces over the case.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle, senior investigating officer, said the sentences reflected the gravity of the crimes and the investigation uncovered "the most disturbing child abuse evidence" he had seen in his 28 years as an officer.
"Today's sentence does not mark the end of our investigations and we will work tirelessly to identify any other victims or witnesses and seek the justice they deserve.
"In the last few weeks we have received further information that will now be looked at by the investigation team."
Earlier he said the investigation was large scale because the amount of data involved - 27 terabytes - was "four or five times" the size of the databases held by South Wales Police.
And he said how he was sure there were other child victims.
Suzanne Thomas, Senior Crown Prosecutor at CPS Wales, said Watkins was the ringleader and the defendants conspired to commit "appalling crimes of abuse against young and defenceless victims".
She added: "He is a highly dangerous and manipulative individual who preyed on his victims in a calculated manner.
"The other two defendants were active participants in the most shocking abuse of their own children. They too have received sentences that reflect their admissions of guilt for these offences.
"It is incomprehensible that adults would commit such appalling acts against children and young people and our thoughts remain with the victims and those close to them."
Watkins with his former bandmates, who have urged other victims to come forward
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.'
IPCC INVESTIGATION
Police watchdog the IPCC is investigating three forces over their handling of allegations made about Ian Watkins between 2008-2012.
South Yorkshire, Bedfordshire and South Wales are being investigated over information received about Watkins prior to his arrest in December 2012.
Three other forces, Essex, West Yorkshire and the Metropolitan Police, also supplied information that they had been given about Watkins for the inquiry but are not currently under investigation.
An officer from South Wales is the focus of the IPCC probe there.
Three reports were made to South Yorkshire between March and May 2012 relating to Watkins.
A member of the public reported an allegation of child abuse against Watkins in October 2012 to Bedfordshire Police.
PAEDOPHILE'S COMPUTER HAD MORE STORAGE THAN POLICE
GCHQ
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 Lostprophets' 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.
BBC News - Lostprophets' Ian Watkins sentenced to 35 years over child sex offences
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