A woman who allowed Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins sexually abuse and rape her baby is appealing to be released from prison.
The disgraced singer, 48, had been serving a 35-year sentence after being convicted of 13 child sexual offences in 2013. Charges included conspiring to rape an 11-month-old baby and three counts of sexual assault involving children.
However, a few days ago Watkins was stabbed to death in his prison cell at HMP Wakefield.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, have since been charged with his murder.
While the pair are due to make their first appearance at Leeds Crown Court today, it’s now been revealed that the mother of the baby Watkins abused is making a fresh bid for freedom.
The woman was jailed for 17 years in 2013 for handing her child to the paedophile to abuse and use to take indecent photos.
She was previously released in 2021, but was hauled back to court and sent back to prison the following year.
In June 2021, the woman was freed at the automatic release point of her sentence, however, her licence was revoked, and she was taken back into custody the following September.
She had been lying about her relationships, and there was concern about ‘other behaviour’.
In November 2023, there was another parole hearing to consider whether she could be freed from prison a second time.
At the time, a review considered her background when she had first been convicted: ‘At the time of her offending, these risk factors had included experiencing low self-esteem and being prepared to offend for the approval of others.
‘She had been too easily influenced and manipulated by another person. She had felt lonely and had been unable to successfully maintain relationships. Nor had she thought sufficiently about the impact of her actions on her victim.’
Although she had been behaving well in prison, she’d refused to accept any treatments to help understand her sex offences.
There had also been concerns about her emotional wellbeing, with the Parole Board eventually deciding she could not be released back into the community.
‘The panel was not satisfied that re-release at this point would be safe for the protection of the public,’ it said at the time.
The Daily Mail has now revealed she is making her second bid for freedom.
A spokesperson for the Parole Board told the publication: ‘We can confirm the parole review of (Woman B) has been referred to the Parole Board by the Secretary of State for Justice and is following standard processes.
‘Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.’
‘A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.’
They continued: ‘Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.’
Another woman was also jailed for offering up her baby to Watkins. She was sentenced to 14 years behind bars.
In court, Watkins was described as ‘a determined and committed paedophile’. In 2014, he was refused the right to appeal against his 35-year sentence.
Following Watkins’ death, a source told The Sun he was killed in ‘the most brutal way possible, even for prison standards’.
They continued: ‘He was targeted by another inmate who shanked him in the neck.
‘Guards were nearby and raced to the scene pretty quickly – but there was nothing they could do, and they could not save him.’
Watkins was ‘airlifted to hospital’ as the prison, also known by its nickname of ‘Monster Mansion’, was ‘locked down’.
The former Lostprophets singer, who formed the band in 1997 alongside Lee Gaze, was previously left ‘fighting for his life’ after a knife attack in 2023.
Ahead of the conclusion of his trial, the Welsh rock band, who released five albums in their time, cancelled all their shows and disbanded.
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