Lostprophets‘ former frontman Ian Watkins is to have his application to appeal the length of his sentence for serious child sex offences considered by a court.
The singer, from Pontypridd, was jailed in December for 29 years for a string of serious child sex offences, including the attempted rape of a baby.
The BBC reports that three court judges sitting in Cardiff will consider his application to appeal the sentence. In addition, they will consider the application made by a woman jailed alongside Watkins, who was the mother of the baby girl he abused, and is seeking a reduction in her 17-year sentence.
Watkins admitted in court to conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal. He pleaded not guilty to rape.
He was sentenced along with the mothers of two women of the children he abused. The women, known as A and B, were jailed for 14 and 17 years respectively.
In May this year, an inquiry was launched by the Independent Police Complaints Commission into whether the celebrity status of the singer delayed him being brought to justice. Gross misconduct notices have already been served on seven police officers from three different forces as part of an investigation into how allegations made against Watkins were dealt with by police. Three officers from South Yorkshire Police; two from Bedfordshire Police and two from South Wales Police are all under investigation.