Former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins is back in the headlines after reports emerged that the 40-year-old has been reportedly grooming a young mother from behind bars.
Watkins has been serving a 35-year sentence at a high-security prison in Wakefield since pleading guilty in 2013 to a number of child-sex offences, but, according to NME (via The Sun), has been writing to, and been visited by, a 21-year-old fan and mother for much of the past year.
According to the reports, the mother had been a fan of Watkins' former band since she was 16, and started corresponding with him in 2016 before receiving a letter from the singer telling her that he loved her, leading to a visit at the prison last November.
Watkins allegedly asked the woman if her two-year-old daughter "came into the room during sex", which led her to confide in friends that he had "scared" her. The following month, her laptop and mobile phone were seized by police, and her child taken into care; the woman has reportedly since visited Watkins a further two times.
While there was apparently "nothing untoward" in the written and electronic correspondence, a spokesman for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said they were "sickened" by the news.
"It's utterly bewildering that he could carry on grooming," he said. "It shows contempt for children he abused, and raises serious questions about supervision."
Comments