Gary Glitter child abuse trial starts

The trial of former British rocker Gary Glitter opened today on charges that he molested two underage Vietnamese girls.

The former glam rocker has been accused of committing obscene acts, including kissing, fondling and other physical acts, with a 10-year-old and 11-year-old at his rental home in the southern port city of Vung Tau last year.

He has denied the allegations.

He faces three to seven years in prison if convicted.

Wearing black pants, shirt and cap and holding up two fingers in a victory sign, Glitter, 61, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was escorted by police this morning through a scrum of reporters into the yellow concrete courthouse in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

He had been held at Phuoc Co prison outside Vung Tau since November.

Glitter's trial is closed to the public, but the verdict will be read publicly tomorrow.

His lawyer, Le Thanh Kinh, said yesterday that Glitter maintained his innocence in the case.

“He says he has not committed any crime,” Kinh said. “I will do my best to defend him,” though he added it will be ”very difficult”.

Glitter has said he was teaching the girls English at his home and considered them “like his grandchildren”.

He has been in police custody since November 19, when he was seized in Ho Chi Minh City trying to board a flight out of the country. He had been held at Phuoc Co prison outside Vung Tau since November.

The sleepy resort town of Vung Tau, about 125 kilometres southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, has drawn intense attention from international media. More than 50 foreign journalists have arrived to cover the trial.

Glitter, who hit his musical peak in the 1970s, had hits with Leader of the Gang and Do You Wanna Touch but is perhaps best known for his crowd-pleasing rock anthem ”Rock and Roll (Part 2)”, which is still 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 in 2002 was expelled from that country, but Cambodian officials did not specify any crime or file charges.