On Nov. 26, Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins pleaded guilty to a disturbing number of sex crimes. Many of these crimes involved children, two of which involved infants who were willingly victimized by their own mothers, who were "superfans" of Lostprophets. The band has kept relatively quiet since Watkins' guilty plea, but over the holiday weekend, Lostprophets released an official statement on their former singer.

About 10 months after Watkins was first arrested on sex crime charges, Lostprophets officially announced their breakup. After 16 years of existence, Lostprophets were forced to end their career in the most horrific of ways. The only immediate response to Watkins' guilty plea from Lostprophets was given by guitarist Lee Gaze, who simply tweeted, "That was over quick. Thank f---," followed by, "Thanks for the kind words. At least there is closure now."

On Nov. 30, Watkins' former bandmates issued the following statement via Facebook:

Earlier this week, we learned that the allegations of child sexual abuse against Ian were true, and that he would not be contesting them in court. Until then, we found them extremely difficult to believe and had hoped it was all a mistake. Sadly, the true extent of his appalling behaviour is now impossible to deny.

Many of you understandably want to know if we knew what Ian was doing. To be clear: We did not. We knew that Ian was a difficult character. Our personal relationships with him had deteriorated in recent years to a point that working together was a constant, miserable challenge. But despite his battles with drugs, his egotistic behaviour, and the resulting fractures and frustrations within our band, we never imagined him capable of behaviour of the type he has now admitted.

We are heartbroken, angry, and disgusted at what has been revealed. This is something that will haunt us for the rest of our lives. Being in a band has always been a labour of love and a platform to inspire people, not to take advantage of them. It's still hard to believe this is happening and that someone we were once so close to has destroyed so many lives, lying every step of the way.
Our hearts go out to Ian's family, the fans and friends he betrayed, and most importantly, the victims of his crimes and others like them. We hope for justice, but also that Ian will truly take responsibility for what he's done. We would urge any other victims to contact the authorities.

Jamie, Lee, Luke, Mike and Stu

Ian Watkins and two anonymous female defendants, who also pleaded guilty to sex crimes, will be sentenced on Dec. 18.

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