Gary Glitter denied parole from UK parole board

Gary Glitter, otherwise known as Paul Gadd, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2015 for sexually abusing three schoolgirls between 1975 and 1980 was not granted parole.

Glitter’s hearing took place behind closed doors last month in which Glitter appealed for parole. His sentence does not expire until February 2031. He was released from the low-security prison in Portland in February of last year after serving half of his fixed-term determinate sentence.

However, Glitter was back in jail no less than six weeks after getting released because he breached his licence condition by allegedly viewing downloaded images of children.

The decision was published this morning and the parole board commented that “after considering the circumstances of his offending, the lack of progress made while in custody and on licence, and the other evidence presented at the hearing, the panel was not satisfied that release at this point would be safe for the protection of the public.”

Glitter was first jailed in 1999 because he possessed thousands of child abuse images. Then in 2002 he was expelled from Cambodia for multiple reports of sex crimes. Finally in 2006 he was convicted of sexually abusing a 10-year-old and an 11-year-old girl in Vietnam. He spent two-and-a-half years in jail for these offences.

In 2015, Glitter's actions came to light during Operation Yewtree. Operation Yewtree an investigation into sexual abuse allegations, predominantly the abuse of children, conducted by the Metropolitan Police.

Glitter is also being sued by one of the girls he abused. At the time the victim was 12-years-old and her lawyer commented that Glitter showed a “total lack of remorse” towards his victims.

Before he was jailed for his sexual assault charge, Glitter was known for his music career which included three UK number one hits including ‘Rock n Roll’ (parts 1 and 2), ‘I’m The Leader Of The Gang (I Am)’, and ‘Do You Wanna Touch Me’.