Gary Glitter denies abusing girls

[BuffHello]

Tuesday, 2 May 2006, 11:48 GMT 12:48 UK

 

Gary Glitter denies abusing girls

 

Gary Glitter admits the future looks bleak

 

Watch the interview

 

Disgraced pop star Gary Glitter has denied ever abusing underage girls and blamed the UK media for his downfall.

 

In his first interview since he was convicted of child sex abuse in March, he admitted letting a girl into his bed but said he knew "the line to cross".

 

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was jailed for three years in Vietnam for molesting two girls aged 11 and 12.

 

He insisted he was confident of winning his appeal, set provisionally for 19 May in Ho Chi Minh City.

 

 

He is trying to minimise what he has done, but the girls gave a clear account of their experiences

 

Q&A: If Glitter returns

 

The judge at his trial condemned his crimes in detail, but Glitter said he had not seen any evidence to support this and denied he had done anything wrong.

 

Asked if he had ever slept with an underage girl, he said: "Not to my knowledge that she's been underage. No, I have not. I know the line to cross."

 

But when asked if he was sure, he hesitated before replying: "It was only recently that I found out that underage is 18 in the country, OK, but I don't believe that I slept with anyone under 18."

 

 

GLITTER IN COURT

November 1999: Glitter admits possessing 4,000 photos of children being abused. Sentenced to four months in UK prison for 54 offences of downloading porn from the internet and placed on sex offenders register

April 2002: Questioned by Cambodian police after moving to the country. Government minister leads campaign to deport him as a "preventative measure"

December 2002: UK Foreign Office confirms Glitter has been detained in Cambodia over suspected sex offences. Deported but no specific reason is given and he later returns pending an appeal

March 2006: Jailed in Vietnam over child sex offences. Sentencing judge says: "His lewd acts have compromised the dignity of the Vietnamese people, law and common sense."

 

He also drew a distinction between having sex and sleeping with girls.

 

When asked if sleeping with an 11-year-old girl was alright, Glitter said: "I'm a father, so from time to time these things happen.

 

"Your daughter will come into your bed in the night because she's scared or something like that. This happened in this case over here. She was scared of ghosts, so under pressure I said OK."

 

Christine Beddoe, director of End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking (Ecpat), said the paedophile was trying to "minimise what he has done" but the girls he had molested had been quite clear in their accusations.

 

Glitter went on to blame the British media for him ending up in a Vietnam jail.

 

He described the press as the "worst enemy in the world", saying that they tracked him all over the globe after his conviction in the UK for downloading child pornography from the internet in 1999.

 

He said his troubles in Vietnam began when a newspaper journalist tracked him down to Vung Tau, where he is now imprisoned.

 

"I felt after I left prison in England that maybe there was a slim chance I could put my life back on track and have a career," Glitter said.

 

 

I'm not a paedophile - I came to Cambodia because I read a book about the Mekong

Gary Glitter

 

"But after some time, the people that surrounded me, lawyers etc and managers, said: 'We don't think so, as the media have already made such a big deal about this'."

 

He said he was "not a paedophile".

 

"I came to Cambodia because I read a book about the Mekong.

 

"I wanted to see if there was somewhere I could live, I love the sunshine, that's the very reason."

 

'History of child abuse'

 

He said he still envisaged going back to the UK, although he said he did not think about his future.

 

"The only thing I think about is trying to win the appeal and trying to put some honour and dignity back to my family, my friends and the fans who've supported me all this time."

 

Christine Beddoe, director of End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking (Ecpat), said: "His comments must be placed within the context of a much longer history of child abuse.

 

"He is trying to minimise what he has done, but the girls gave a clear account of their experiences.

 

"We need to make sure we do not minimise the evidence given by the victims in this case.

 

 

We hope the public's attention has been drawn to the issue of child sex tourism

Philippa Lei

World Vision

 

"We must allow children to tell their story and not just have the words of Gadd."

 

Philippa Lei, child rights policy adviser at World Vision UK, said the charity had welcomed Glitter's conviction because "it sends a strong prevention message to other people travelling abroad who may be tempted to engage in sexual activities with an underage child".

 

She said the government and tourism industry needed to provide more information about the penalties in other countries.

 

"We hope the public's attention has been drawn to the issue of child sex tourism as a whole," she said.

 

"We have anecdotal evidence that other British men are offending in this way."

 

bbc.co.uk

[Nervous_Dog]

I say the interview on TV yesterday and didn;t even recognise him, he looks very "gay"

 

DOG

[Mentors]

I can't believe Gary, but can i believe the press? ::

[Mentors]

from Bangkok Post today:

 

 

A court in Vietnam will hear the appeal of convicted sex offender Gary Glitter next month, the former glam rocker's lawyer said Tuesday.

 

The trial, which is expected to last one day, will take place before the People's S

Supreme Court of Appeals in Ho Chi Minh City on June 15.

 

Glitter was found guilty of committing obscene acts with two pre-teen girls in his rented villa in southern Vietnam. He was sentenced to three years in prison on March 3.

 

Gary sent the letter of appeal to the People's Court back in March,'' said Glitter's lawyer, Le Thanh Kinh. ``The letter said that the evidence against him is not objective and he asked the court to reconsider his case.''

 

Glitter, who was born Paul Francis Gadd, was convicted of possessing child pornography in 1999 and spent several months in British prison. Since his arrest in Vietnam, Glitter has maintained his innocence and says that he is a victim of a conspiracy by British tabloid newspapers.

[Flashermac]

Seems to me that the parents that "rented" him the girls should have been tried as well. Glitter couldn't have done it without their involvement. But they are poor, so I suppose there is no sense in trying to get money out of them.

[Mentors]

from Asia News

 

HO CHI MINH CITY (AFP) - A Vietnamese court has rejected an appeal by former British glam rocker Gary Glitter against a three-year jail term for sexually abusing children, calling him a danger to society.

 

The faded 1970s star, born Paul Francis Gadd, had been found guilty on March 3 of "committing obscene acts" with two young girls in the southern resort town of Vung Tau and sentenced to the minimum term under Vietnamese law.

 

The People's Supreme Court in Ho Chi Minh City confirmed the conviction and the sentence after a one-day hearing behind closed doors.

 

"We did not see enough evidence to reduce the penalty for the defendent," said chief judge Truong Vinh Thuy. "The decision was made based on evidence, documents and testimony of the victims," he added.

 

"The behavior of the defendant is dangerous for society, especially towards children. He needs to be punished."

 

Glitter, 62, has always denied abusing the girls. He said he was teaching them English and allowed them to stay overnight because they were scared of ghosts.

 

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He shook his head several times during the reading of the verdict.

 

"It's not a fair trial," shouted the singer, dressed in black with sunglasses and a goatee, as he left the courtroom.

 

The former star can still apply for parole after serving one-third of his sentence. This in theory means he could be released by Christmas, having spent more than three months behind bars before his first trial.

 

"Glitter contested the version of the victims and the evidence brought by the authorities and he claimed his innocence. He still denied all charges," his lawyer Le Thanh Kinh told journalists earlier in the day.

 

The singer also denounced a "plot against him" by both the victims and the media. Asked whether the appeal was fair, the lawyer said: "No comment."

 

Nguyen Xuan Phat, deputy judge and court spokesman, said however Glitter was "not honest" in his denials of wrongdoing.

 

"After considering all necessary details, we see that it is groundless for the defendent to claim his innocence," he told a press conference after the trial.

 

"We also rejected (Glitter's accusations) that the British media had cooperated with the victims and the witness to plot against him," Phat said.

 

The appeal trial marks the latest phase in the flamboyant showman's fall from grace, which began with a four-month jail term in Britain in 1999 for possessing child pornography.

 

In March the judge who presided over the first trial in the sensational case, Hoang Thanh Tung, described Glitter as "sick" and "abnormal."

 

He came to Vung Tau -- notorious for its hundreds of red-light bars, karaoke joints and massage parlors -- with three Vietnamese prostitutes he had met in Phnom Penh who helped him procure children for sex, according to prosecutors.

 

In an early sign the court would not be lenient, deputy judge Huynh Lap Thanh told AFP on Wednesday the appeal hearing would send a message "admonishing foreigners who come to Vietnam for tourism purposes but then abuse children sexually."

 

After completing his 1999 jail term, Glitter apparently moved to Cuba and then resettled in Cambodia, where he lived on and off for years before being expelled in 2002 after reportedly trawling for child sex.

 

The star, known for his bouffant wig and silver jumpsuits, had several hits including "I'm The Leader Of The Gang (I Am!)". He was arrested at Ho Chi Minh City airport in November 2005 while trying to board a flight to Thailand.

 

Glitter evaded a more serious charge of child rape, which carries a maximum penalty of death by firing squad. He paid 2,000 dollars in compensation to the family of each victim before the March trial.

[Mentors]

from Scottish Daily Recort:

 

Gary Glitter screamed his innocence as he was marched to a prison van after losing his appeal yesterday.

 

Glitter yelled "Bull***t" when asked if it was time to get psychiatric help.

 

In court after realising his appeal had failed, the former rock star collapsed into his chair and shouted: "It's another outrage.

 

"There's no justice in Vietnam. I'm innocent, completely innocent of all charges.

"There's no evidence. I had no defence."

Glitter was originally convicted of kissing, fondling and engaging in other sexual acts with two girls, aged ten and 11, in March.

 

Charges of child rape, which carry a maximum sentence of death by firing squad, were dropped after Glitter paid the children's families £1000.

 

Judges at Vietnam's Supreme Appeals Court, in Ho Chi Minh City, told Glitter he would be deported to Britain after completing his three year sentence.

 

He could face further charges when he returns over child porn found on his laptop in Vietnam.

 

The former glam rocker was jostled and barged as he made his way down the stairs of the court.

 

As he was frog-marched to the prison van Glitter was asked if he would con-sider getting help after being found guilty of child sex offences for a third time. He screamed: "Help! What for? Bullt. I haven't done anything."

 

Glitter's two victims, Tran Thi Thu Diem and Tran Thi Thao Nguyen, now both aged 12, were forced to give evidence for a second time during the appeal.