Former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins has had his jail term appeal refused.
The shamed star was jailed for 29 years last December, with another six years on license, after being found guilty of a number of child sex offences, and after claiming that his sentence was "too harsh", judges at Cardiff Crown Court have now decided he didn’t have sufficient grounds to appeal, Sky News reports.
The singer had originally insisted he was innocent of offences including the attempted rape of an 11-month-old child, possession of child-abuse videos – some of which he made himself – and encouraging a fan to abuse her own child.
However, he changed his plea at the last minute, averting the need for a trial, and later complained he hadn’t realised his guilty plea would indeed make him "look guilty".
At his original trial, the judge told him: "I am satisfied that you are a deeply corrupting influence, you are highly manipulative, you are a sexual predator, you are dangerous.
"The public and, in particular, young females need protection from you."
Watkins was told that he would have to serve at least two-thirds of his custodial sentence before he could even be considered for release by the Parole board.
His barrister insisted her client wasn’t given enough discount for pleading guilty, saying: "This case causes a very disturbing reaction for anyone who has anything to do with it … But by pleading guilty my client averted the need for a most distressing and unpleasant trial for all those concerned, especially a jury.
"I am not trying to minimise the gravity of these offenses, just simply make the observation that a sense of proportion needs to be maintained."
Ian Watkins’ appeal denied
