Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse, rape, violence, and sexual assault, which some readers may find distressing.
A former inmate of Ian Watkins has explained what he was like in prison.
The singer from Lostprophets was pronounced dead on Saturday morning (11 October) after being assaulted at HMP Wakefield.
Two men (Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43) from the West Yorkshire prison have been charged with the 48-year-old’s murder.
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Watkins was jailed in December 2013 and was serving a 29-year sentence for a string of child sex offences, including the attempted rape of a baby.
He was previously taken to the hospital after being attacked in prison in 2023 with reportedly non-life-threatening injuries. And a former prisoner from HMP Wakefield has now said the convicted paedophile was a ‘dead man walking’ there.
Speaking under anonymity, the former inmate said to the Daily Mail: “Watkins was effectively a dead man walking from the moment he arrived in Wakefield.”
While there’s said to be an ‘unwritten rule’ not to ask others what crime they had committed, everyone in the prison apparently knew about Watkins’ attempt to rape a baby.
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“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,” they added.
HMP Wakefield is a high-security prison for men and has been nicknamed the ‘Monster Mansion’ due to its holding a large number of high-profile, high-risk murderers and sex offenders.
A prison officer added that this makes for a ‘very dangerous mix’, as they further explained: “With sex offenders, you could have people jailed for date rape all the way through to prolific child abusers, who are beyond any form of rehabilitation, mixing with violent criminals, murderers and gangsters.”
And according to the partner of a current prisoner, there was ‘cheering’ when word spread that Watkins had been murdered.
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“He was hated because his crimes were so sick,” they added.
Emergency services were sent to the prison, but Watkins was pronounced dead at the scene. A provision date of 5 May has been set for the trial of Gedel and Dodsworth.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.
Jess Battison