Baby Rapist Ian Watkins Loses Appeal Against 'Harsh' 29 Year Sentence

Welsh rocker Ian Watkins lost his appeal against his sentence for "depraved" sex crimes against children.

The 36-year-old singer was told his crimes were "of such shocking depravity" that a 29-year jail term was justified.

Judges at Cardiff Crown Court threw out his appeal after hearing the disgraced rock star's lawyer claim it was too "harsh."

Ruling on the bid, the judge said Watkins' crimes were so bad they "that a very lengthy prison sentence was demanded."

Watkins was jailed last year for a string of offences including the attempted rape of a baby. Police also discovered a computer cache belonging to him of child sex abuse material which was five times the size of the entire South Wales Police database.

Watkins denied 20 charges until his trial was about to begin, when he suddenly switched his plea to guilty. He was described as a "determined and committed paedophile."

Appealing, the former Lostprophets frontman claimed a 10 per cent discount on his sentence at trial had not been enough.

Rejecting the claim, the judge said: "In our judgement, the appropriate discount was a matter for the judgement and discretion of the judge who had all the material necessary to make that decision.

"We have no doubt that, in the circumstances, he reached an appropriate conclusion."

A woman - who cannot be named for legal reasons, also convicted with Watkins who supplied her own child for him to abuse, also lost her appeal.

Watkins described his crimes as "mega lolz" to a female fan while he was being held behind bars on remand.