Ian Watkins, who was serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offences, was pronounced dead after being assaulted at HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire on Saturday morning
Lostprophets paedophile Ian Watkins was always a “dead man walking” at HMP Wakefield, a former prisoner said.
Inmates at the Category A men’s clink knew Watkins, 48, had been jailed for child sex offences, including the attempted rape of a baby, and reportedly made him a target. It is said the disgraced singer had been attacked previously following his sentence to 29 years in December 2013.
And, on Saturday morning, the paedophile was pronounced dead after being assaulted at the prison in West Yorkshire. Two men – Rashid Gedel, 25, and 43-year-old Samuel Dodsworth, both of HMP Wakefield – have been charged with Watkins’ murder.
An ex-prisoner said last night: “Watkins was effectively a dead man walking from the moment he arrived in Wakefield. There is an unwritten rule that you don’t ask people what crime they did, but everyone knew that Watkins attempted to rape a baby. 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.”
Gedel and Dodsworth appeared at Leeds Magistrates’ Court yesterday. No pleas were entered and no application for bail was made. They are due to appear at Leeds Crown Court today.
HMP Wakefield is a high-security jail, which houses more than 600 offenders including hundreds convicted of sexual offences. A prison officer told the Daily Mail: “There are so many sex offenders in Wakefield, along with some of the most violent people in the country. It’s a very dangerous mix.
“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.”
The partner of one serving prisoner told the same publication last night: “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.”
A source also said staffing levels are generally low at run-down HMP Wakefield, which is set against the drab backdrop of buildings that date back to the Victorian era. Child killers Roy Whiting and Mark Bridger are serving time at the clink, as is the likes of Jeremy Bamber, who murdered five members of his family at White House Farm in Essex in 1985.
Watkins, born in Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales, was charged with the child sex offences in December 2012. His barrister said the musician had no recollection of the case involving the attempted rape, but had “belatedly realised the gravity of what happened” after having developed an “obsession” with videoing himself having sex.
