Glitter pays families in sex case deal

Former rocker Gary Glitter paid £2,200 (€3,200) to the families of Vietnamese girls of whom he is accused of sexually abusing, in exchange for their co-operation, his lawyer said today.

Attorney Le Thanh Kinh said Glitter had given £1,100 (€1,600) each to the families of an 11-year-old and 12-year-old he allegedly had sex with after they agreed to write letters to the court asking that the case be dropped.

“If we pay the money for the two families, when this case goes to court, maybe Mr Gary will receive a lighter penalty,” Kinh said.

Glitter, 61, whose real name is Paul Gadd, has been held at Phuoc Co prison since November 19 under suspicion of committing obscene acts with a child, which carries a maximum penalty of 12 years' jail.

Police completed their investigation into the case this week and handed over their conclusions to Glitter and Kinh today, said Lt Col Nguyen Duc Trinh. Prosecutors will get the documents within three days.

Prosecutors said today they are likely to charge Glitter with engaging in lewd acts with a child, saying there was not enough evidence to prove the more serious crime of child rape, which carries a maximum penalty of death by firing squad.

“We followed this case from the beginning. The crime of obscene acts with a child is obvious,” said Nguyen Van Xung, deputy provincial chief prosecutor.

“We hope to have the final decision in less than a month.”

The families, who were paid two weeks ago, had originally asked for £5,600 (€8,200) and £3,000 (€4,300) respectively, Kinh said.

“After receiving the money, they informed the investigation bureau that they don’t want to go to court and they want to drop the case,” he said.

During their investigation, police had also looked into whether Glitter could be charged with child rape. Under Vietnamese law, sex with a child under the age of 13 would be considered rape.

The two girls reportedly told police that they had sex with the former glam rocker at his rented seaside house in Vung Tau.

However, police investigator Trinh said there was not enough evidence to press the child rape charge against Glitter since medical tests showed the girls did not have sexual intercourse. Police concluded that Glitter had committed obscene acts with them, Trinh said.

Glitter won fame as a flamboyant glam rocker in the 1970s. He is perhaps best known for Rock And Roll (Part 2), still often played at sporting events.

He was convicted in Britain in 1999 of possessing child pornography and served half of a four-month jail term. He later went to Cambodia and was permanently expelled in 2002, but Cambodian officials did not specify any crime or file charges.