[5] Watkins grew up listening to mostly American rock and metal artists, and in 2004 mentioned the band Faith No More as his biggest influence.

Whilst spending time in the local Ynysangharad Park, where (17 years later) Lostprophets would headline The Full Ponty festival, Watkins was introduced to future bandmate Lee Gaze through a mutual friend.

Having abandoned Aftermath, which made two live appearances in its lifespan of two years, Watkins and Gaze decided to form a new band called Fleshbind, based on their American hardcore punk influences.

[4] Watkins reunited with Mike Lewis as a drummer in a hardcore band called Public Disturbance, formed in 1995.

In a 2002 interview, following the release of Lostprophets' debut album The Fake Sound of Progress, Watkins cited the band's concert at the Cardiff Coal Exchange in December 2001 as a crucial moment in their timeline, stating "It was incredible.

[10] Lostprophets released five studio albums: The Fake Sound of Progress (2000), Start Something (2004), Liberation Transmission (2006), The Betrayed (2010), and Weapons (2012).

Watkins had requested his own private dressing room away from the other five band members, where much of his abuse of children allegedly took place.

[14] Bassist Stuart Richardson recalled during a December 2019 interview the tensions escalating into an altercation with Watkins after he failed to report for a show: I come off the stage, fucking livid.

Joanne Mjadzelics, an ex-girlfriend of Watkins, recalls him displaying multiple graphic images with minors or drug paraphernalia as early as 2010.

Watkins had already attracted attention from Welsh law enforcement[19] after several friends reported that he was regularly smuggling cocaine and methamphetamine from Los Angeles.

[22][23] On 19 December, he was charged at Cardiff magistrates court with conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a one-year-old girl and possession and/or distribution of indecent images of children and "extreme animal pornography".

[24][25][26] On 31 December, he appeared at Cardiff Crown Court via video link from HM Prison Parc in Bridgend, and was remanded in custody until 11 March 2013.

"[31] The South Wales Police investigation into Watkins, codenamed "Operation Globe", required the co-operation of GCHQ to decrypt a hidden drive on his laptop, which was found to contain video evidence of his abuses.

[33] On 27 November, the day after his guilty plea had been accepted by the prosecution, Watkins referred to his sex offences as "mega lolz" in a recorded phone call to a female fan made from HM Prison Parc.

[2] A senior investigating officer on the case described Watkins as a "committed, organised paedophile" and "potentially the most dangerous sex offender" he had ever seen.

[40] An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation report published in summer 2016 said that three detectives from the South Wales force should face disciplinary action after they failed to act on earlier allegations of abuse by Watkins from 2008 onward.

[43][44][33] The report concluded:[32] The consequence of the force's failings was arguably that a predatory paedophile offended over an extended period of time.

The evidence obtained in this investigation suggests that South Wales Police were faced with a litany of reports about his behaviour, yet in some instances did not carry out even rudimentary investigation, made errors and omissions and missed opportunities to bring him to justice earlier than he ultimately was.South Wales Police Assistant Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan said his force "entirely accepts and regrets" the findings of the report.

[40][45] He was accused of using the phone to maintain contact with a girlfriend outside prison, but denied the charge,[46] claiming it did not belong to him but to two inmates who forced him to hide it for them;[47] he refused to give their names, citing fear of violent retribution.

[49] Watkins reportedly paid a Liverpool-based gang member £1000 for access to the mobile device, however upon being caught with the phone in custody, this amount increased to £5000.

[53] It was later claimed that the motive for the attack was an unsettled £900 drugs debt with another prisoner whilst in custody, with the makeshift weapon being a sharpened toilet brush.