British ex-glam rock star Gary Glitter, convicted of multiple sexual abuse of children, is back in prison just a few weeks after his parole. The 79-year-old violated the conditions of probation, said the British Probation Service on Monday.
Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was released early in February from a Portland prison in southern England after serving half of his 16-year sentence. It is common in England for a half-way penalty to be suspended.
As is usual with convicted sex offenders, Glitter’s release was conditional. For example, he was closely monitored by the police and the probation service and was equipped with a GPS transmitter.
Glitter was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2015 for sexually abusing three underage girls between 1975 and 1980. Accordingly, he is said to have tried, among other things, to rape a ten-year-old girl. The prosecution accused him of using his success as a musician to sexually assault his young fans.
The crimes only came to light two decades later, when Glitter pleaded guilty in another trial to possession of 4,000 child pornography images. After four months in prison, he emigrated to Cambodia, which, however, expelled him in 2002 because of allegations of abuse. In 2006 he was sentenced to three years in prison in neighboring Vietnam for sexually abusing two girls.
After returning to the UK in 2008, he was placed on the sex offenders’ register there for life. Glitter was arrested again and finally convicted in connection with the investigation into the abuse scandal involving former BBC presenter Jimmy Savile.
The sequined singer had his biggest hits in the 1970s with singles like “I’m the Leader of the Gang (I Am)”, “I Love You Love Me Love” and “Come On Come In Get On”. For many, he was considered the epitome of glam rock.
