Gary Glitter freed from jail after serving half of his 16 year sentence for sexually abusing three schoolgirls
3 February 2023, 10:25 | Updated: 3 February 2023, 11:07
Disgraced pop star Gary Glitter has been released from jail after serving half of his sentence for sexually abusing three schoolgirls.
Glitter, 79, real name is Paul Gadd, was found guilty of the abuse by a court in 2015 and sentenced to sixteen years in prison.
The paedophile glam rock singer - who had a string of chart hits in the 1970s - left HMP The Verne on Friday.
A low security category C jail in Portland, Dorset, Glitter had served eight years behind bars before being released half-way through his fixed-term determinate sentence.
At trial, the singer was was found guilty of one count of attempted rape, one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, and four counts of indecent assault - later losing a Court of Appeal challenge against his conviction.
The sex offender will now be subject to strict licence conditions.
Born on May 8, 1944 in Banbury, Oxfordshire, the singer scored a string of hits with songs including Rock 'n' Roll and Do You Wanna Touch Me.
The star was at the height of his fame when he preyed on his vulnerable victims who thought no-one would believe their claims over that of a celebrity.
The disgraced icon went on to attack two girls, aged 12 and 13, after inviting them backstage to his dressing room and luring them away from their mothers.
The third victim was under 10 years old when he tried to rape her in her bed in 1975.
The historic allegations came to light nearly 40 years after they occurred, with Glitter the first person to be arrested under Operation Yewtree.
The special police investigation was launched by the Metropolitan Police in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Sentencing the singer, Judge Alistair McCreath said all the victims were "profoundly affected" by the abuse.
The judged added it was "difficult to overstate the gravity of this dreadful behaviour" when referring to the assault on one victim, telling
He added Glitter was able to attack another "only" because of his fame.
Glitter's fall from grace occurred years earlier after he admitted possessing 4,000 child pornography images and was jailed for four months in 1999.
In 2002, he was also expelled from Cambodia amid reports of sex crime allegations.
