Lostprophets Ian Watkins sentenced to 35 years.

When Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins was arrested a year ago, I was shocked. I never imagined that I would be sitting here a year later writing out the results of his trial. 

In the past year it's become clear that Ian Watkins committed several child related sex crimes. He was denied bail and has been awaiting trial in prison all year. He was, at one point, placed on suicide watch. Around the same time, the rest of the Lostprophets band publicly announced their break up. 

After pleading guilty to a long list of sex crimes involving children including sexual assault and creating child pornography, Ian Watkins was sentenced to 29 years in prison with another 6 years on license. Identified only as "Woman A" and "Woman B", two mothers accused of participating in his abuse of their children were sentenced to 14 and 17 years respectively. 

I can only hope this horrific story is over and Ian will get some much needed help in the coming years. I also hope that the shock and pain will ease for the other members of Lostprophets and in time they will be able to move in new directions with the same unwavering support that they've seen in the last year. 

Lostprophets announce break up as Ian Watkins awaits trial.

It's been nearly a year since Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins was arrested for a series of sexual crimes involving children. Although the remaining members of the band have been relatively quiet since the arrest, the break up wasn't official until October 1st. They posted a statement on their Facebook page announcing that after fifteen years and this shocking turn of events they wouldn't be continuing as Lostprophets. 

You can read their official statement on their Facebook.

Due to the removal of the Lostprophets Facebook page, you can now read the statement here:

To our fans:

After nearly a year of coming to terms with our heartache, we finally feel ready to announce publicly what we have thought privately for some time. We can no longer continue making or performing music as Lostprophets. Your love and support over the past 15 years has been tremendous, and we'll be forever grateful for all you've given us. As we look forward to the next phase of our lives, we can only hope to be surrounded by people as devoted and inspiring as you guys have been. 

Jamie, Lee, Luke, Mike, and Stu