UK child abuse singer jailed for 35 years

Former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins has been handed a 35-year jail sentence for a string of child sex offences.

British rock singer Ian Watkins

British rock singer Ian Watkins has been jailed for 35 years for a string of child sex offences. (AAP)

British rock singer Ian Watkins, the former Lostprophets frontman, has been jailed for 35 years for the attempted rape of a baby and several other "incomprehensible" child sex offences.

Watkins, who admitted 13 offences at Cardiff Crown Court, had "plumbed new depths of depravity", his judge said.

The vocalist, whose band sold millions of albums around the world, plotted the abuse of two children with their own mothers in a series of text and internet messages.

The heavily tattooed 36-year-old spoke of his desire to intoxicate one of his victims by blowing crystal meth smoke into the child's face.

"Ian Watkins was the ringleader of this terrible conspiracy and it is right that his sentence reflects this," the Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement after sentencing.

"He is a highly dangerous and manipulative individual who preyed on his victims in a calculated manner.

"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."

Police are now investigating whether Watkins committed further abuse in the United States and Germany.


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Source: AAP



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