Disgraced Lostprophets frontman lived in constant fear during his time in the ‘Monster Mansion’ with daily attacks and abuse. But he also somehow kept a loyal fan base of young women who would visit the sick paedophile
From the moment he walked into his cell in HMP Wakefield, vile sex offender Ian Watkins was a target.
It’s an unwritten rule that lags don’t ask other inmates what they did to find themselves in the UK’s largest highest security prison – chillingly known as Monster Mansion. But the disgraced Lostprophets frontman couldn’t hide from his fame – everyone knew the depths of his depravity.
In 2013, the Welsh singer was jailed for 29 years for 13 horrific sex offences, including the attempted rape and sexual assault of children under the age of 13. One of the infants was just 10 months old.
The “determined” sex offender had a collection of child abuse photos and films almost five times the size of the police force that arrested him. A total of 27 terabytes of data storage from computers and devices found in Watkins’ possession. His heinous online library was encrypted, and the sick pervert used a reference to child abuse as his password.
Still, a former Wakefield inmate says Watkins never showed any remorse and remained a ‘self centred loner’ before he was killed in prison last weekend. Insiders say that after being locked up, his weight yo-yoed and hair dye from the prison shop was the only thing keeping his thinning hair jet black.
Yet somehow, the proud paedo kept a deluded fan base of young women during his time inside – he was reportedly even allowed regular visits from three ‘goth groupies’ and was spotted holding hands and giggling with his visitors. A sickened onlooker claimed they once saw him kissing one fan.
In his cell, he hoarded 600 pages of letters from different women – some including sexual fantasies. It’s difficult to comprehend what would drive anyone to stick by a dangerous and prolific paedophile. But at his trial, the court heard that Watkins was a master manipulator and used his frenzied fan base of young women to gain access to children, including babies.
A source told the Daily Mail: “He got a lot of correspondence [in jail], mainly from women, with some asking him to marry them. It was beyond comprehension, given his horrendous crimes.”
But Watkins’ female admirers would do little to ease his miserable life inside – the rocker’s fame, horrendous crimes and attention from women made him even more of a target and he is said to have lived in constant fear of the repercussions.
“Watkins was effectively a dead man walking from the moment he arrived in Wakefield,” an ex-prisoner told the publication. “He had been attacked before and was abused every day. He was a loner, self-centred and remorseless. He had no real friends and spent a lot of time on his own in his room.”
Meanwhile, speaking to The Mirror, ex-prison officer Tony Cottenden said of paedophiles in prison: “They’re usually supervised if they’re alongside a normal population, or if they need to go somewhere they’re usually taken there by an officer.
“Some prisons have separate movement, so usually most offenders move around the prison on something known as free flow, and on the way to work these offenders will move at separate times at certain prisons.
“…So yeah, it’s not a very pleasant experience for them. [It’s] very limited. Everything is separate. You’re usually just on the landing full of other vulnerable prisoners, whether that be paedophiles or people that are on active documents, which is like your classic case of suicide watch, etc. People who can’t cope with the prison environment.”
In 2019, Watkins has another 10 months added to his sentence for possessing a mobile phone in jail, which he used to contact a woman he was previously in a relationship with. The subsequent court case revealed grim details of his time inside.
Watkins used the phone to contact his former girlfriend, who first met him when she was 19. They had been in a relationship but she cut contact in 2012. Despite being aware of his crimes, she started speaking to him again in 2016 through letters, phone calls and legitimate prison emails.
Then, in March 2018, her phone pinged with a text from an unknown number which read: “Hi Gabriella-ella,-ella-eh-eh-eh”. The woman told the court that it was a nod to the Rihanna song Umbrella – a reference that Watkins had made before. When she asked who was messaging her, she got the response: “It’s the devil on your shoulder”. The next text read “I’m trusting you massively with this” and she knew immediately who it was.
The woman spoke to the sex offender on the phone to make sure it was him then reported him to the prison authorities. The numbers of seven women linked to Watkins were found on the phone. The paedo claimed he had been acting under duress and that two other prisoners had made him look after the device, in order to ‘hook them up’ with his admirers and use them as a ‘revenue stream’.
Watkins, keenly aware of the danger he was in every day in prison, refused to name the inmates saying they were ‘murderers and handy’. He said: “You would not want to mess with them. I like my head on my body.”
Speaking about possible repercussions following his case, Watkins accurately predicted his own grim fate. “Chances are someone would sneak up behind me and cut my throat. It’s not like one-on-one. Stuff like that, you don’t see it coming.”
In 2023, Watkins was brutally attacked by three other inmates and nearly died as a result of his injuries. Watkins was rescued by a specially trained squad of riot officers who chucked stun grenades into the cell to free him. “He was screaming and was obviously terrified and in fear of his life,” a source said. He needed life-saving treatment in hospital.
Despite having the money to buy protection inside, Watkins was abused every day in jail and eventually met a gruesome fate. The disgraced singer was killed in prison on Saturday and two inmates have been charged with his murder.
Few if any of his fellow lags will mourn his passing. The partner of one serving prisoner told the Daily Mail: “He said that there was cheering when word spread that Watkins had been killed.
“All of the prisoners were locked in their cells, but word spread quickly. He was hated because his crimes were so sick.”