Ian Watkins, the lead singer of the British rock band Lostprophets, was sentenced to 35 years for child sex abuse on Wednesday. The singer pleaded guilty at Cardiff Crown Court in Wales last month to 13 counts relating to child sex offences.
Along with Watkins, two mothers of children he abused will also be behind bars for 14 and 17 year after admitting the child abuse charges.
"You are a deeply corrupting influence, you are highly manipulative, you are a sexual predator," says Judge John Royce to Atkins before reading the sentence.
"The public and in particular young females and children need protection from you," the judge added.
The investigation into Watkins "uncovered the most disturbing child abuse evidence I have seen in my 28 years as a police officer," said Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle, senior investigating officer for South Wales Police.
Lostprophets toured in the United States and Germany in the past. With this, police believed they haven't tracked down all of the singer's victims. They are conducting further investigations from different agencies such as the Interpol and U.S. Department for Homeland Security.
The British rock group disbanded when the news of Atkins broke out. They've sold more than 3 million records worldwide.
We are "heartbroken, angry and disgusted" at revelations that Watkins had abused children, said Atkins' bandmates.
Watkins admitted two attempted rapes, sexually assaulting a child under 13, aiding and abetting the sexual assault of a child under 13, conspiring to rape a child under 13 and conspiring to sexually assault another child under 13, a spokeswoman for the Cardiff court said.
He also pleaded guilty to six counts of taking and possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing extreme pornographic images, the spokeswoman said.
The two women sentenced on Wednesday sexually abused their children when asked by Watkins and were prepared to make their children available to him for sex, the court heard.
