Ian Watkins, the convicted pedophile who once fronted the British band Lostprophets, is in hospital after being taken hostage and stabbed while in prison.
Watkins, 46, is currently 10 years into a 29-year jail sentence for multiple sexual offences, including serious crimes against young children and babies.
The sex offender is serving his time at HMP Wakefield, in West Yorkshire and was reportedly taken hostage by three other inmates on Saturday morning (August 5) according to Sky News. He sustained injuries which are not believed to be life-threatening, despite not being freed by police until six hours after being reportedly abducted.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: "Police are investigating an incident which took place on Saturday at HMP Wakefield. We are unable to comment further while the police investigate."
The disgraced former singer was convicted in December 2013 after admitting 13 sex offenses, one of which was the attempted rape of a fan's baby. In addition to this, the convicted pedophile also confessed to encouraging another fan to abuse their child during a webcam chat and was discovered to have a stash of child pornography videos that he had made himself.
At the time of his conviction, police referred to Watkins as a "committed, organized pedophile" while the judge who oversaw the case said it "plunged into new depths of depravity".
Prior to his 2013 conviction, Watkins had the attention of Welsh authorities after being reported for a number of sexual and drug based offences between 2008 and 2012. The authorities failed to act upon any of the leads linking the former Lostprophets frontman to the several allegations.
Joanne Mjadzelics, an ex-girlfriend of Watkins, was one of six people to file a report regarding his conduct between 2008 and 2011, having allegedly been shown a graphic image involving a minor by the 46-year-old in 2010. That same year, an Australian woman came forward, accusing Watkins of assaulting her child, but the allegations were not investigated by the police, with the same result occurring for the parents of a two-year-old in Los Angeles, who were contacted by Mjadzelics when she discovered Watkins had been abusing their child.
Watkins was eventually arrested at his Pontypridd home in 2012, where a large number of computers, mobile phones and storage devices were seized. Two-thirds of his sentence will be served behind bars, while a further six years will be served on license.
The prisoners who reportedly took Watkins hostage at around 9am on Saturday morning were believed to be "heavy duty", according to The Daily Mail. The newspaper's sources claim the 46-year-old has had a "target on his back" and the inmates had been waiting for a day when less staff were present to conduct the attack.
Officers at HMP Wakefield had to wait for a 'tornado' team of specially-trained officers to arrive to bring an end to the hostage situation, using stun grenades in order to free Watkins, who had been stabbed in the neck. Sources revealed that the former singer was screaming for his life during the attack, with the gang barricading the door so no one could attempt to save the convicted pedophile.
(1).jpeg_7eofTs?tr=h-184)
