British former glam rocker Gary Glitter, 61, was found guilty in a Vietnamese court of molesting two girls, aged 11 and 12, at his home in the resort town of Vung Tau in southern Vietnam, and sentenced to three years in prison. Glitter (real name Paul Gadd) also has to pay 5 million Vietnamese dong ($315) to his victims' families and will deported upon his release.
The fallen flamboyant star, whose "Rock and Roll Part 2" still rocks sports arenas and stadiums around the globe ("Hey!") over 30 years after its release, was convicted of kissing, fondling and engaging in other sexual acts with the girls. He escaped charges of child rape, which carry a maximum penalty of death by firing squad.
Glitter's lawyer made compensatory payments to the families of the girls in December, who then appealed to the court for leniency toward Glitter.
Judge Hoang Thanh Tung said of Glitter, "His lewd acts have compromised the dignity of the Vietnamese people, law and common sense, and therefore it is necessary to punish him." The judge told the BBC he believed Glitter understood he had "a sickness."
Glitter told journalists after his conviction, "I haven't done anything - I am innocent. It is a conspiracy by you-know-who."
I knew Lord Voldemort got around, but Vietnam?
Piling on primly, the British embassy said in a statement, "Both the UK and the Vietnamese governments take the issue of child-sex tourism extremely seriously."
It's been a rough go of late for Glitter, who toured endlessly behind his '70s hits through much of the '80s and '90s: He was convicted of possessing child pornography in Britain in '99 and served two months, moved on to Cambodia which permanently expelled him in December 2002 for "suspected sex offenses," then oozed to Vietnam for the activites that led to this conviction. He has three years to think about it.
Article comments
1 - Victor Lana
I am sick of celebrities getting away with murder (sometimes literally). Maybe in the future we should hold court for some of our depraved stars over in Vietnam.
2 - Matthew T. Sussman
Victor, Gary Glitter isn't a celebrity.
HEY!
3 - Dawn
Man, if anyone is deserving of the death penalty it's that fucker. Just exterminate his perverted scumball ass.
4 - Moie
He should damn glad he wasn't in some other country. Viet Nam may be very lenient on these types of issues, because it is a fairly common occurance.
315 bucks? That's not even a slap on the wrist.
Perhaps he plied the courts with autographs and cd's before the trial.
Jeez
5 - Dawn
Good point Moie, the only thing worse than preying on children in your own country, is going to some third world country and preying on their children.
I've said it before but it bears repeating, fry that fucker.
6 - sal m
the australian idiots in thailand got the death penalty for trying to smuggle drugs OUT of the country...glitter should have gotten the same...
and the vietnamese really need to change the name of that unit of currency...the dong???
7 - DJRadiohead
Say what you want about Vietnam's light sentencing but didn't Glitter serve time in the UK? Why did they let him out of prison in the first place?
8 - lumpy
glitter's conviction in the UK was just for having kiddie porn on his computer so a fairly light sentence makes sense. personally I think the best sentence for child molestors would be to brand them with a big 'P' for perv on their foreheads and see how society treats them.
9 - Eric Olsen
there are a lot of issues here regarding exploitation, sickness, relative values, etc - probably at his age 3 years is a fairly serious punishment
10 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
and the vietnamese really need to change the name of that unit of currency...the dong???
Maybe it's an iflatable and deflatable unit of currency using a different kind of economic stimulus. You never know - these guys in Vietnam may be onto something here.
11 - NR Davis
I read that once Glitter is released and deported back to the UK, British police will be awaiting him at the airport. I certainly do not condone frying anyone, but I do hope he gets to spend much time in a place where he cannot hurt anyone else, be they British, Vietnamese or whatever.
12 - Eric Olsen
agreed Nat - children must be protected
13 - Dick Drost
Prison for fondling and kissing? You've got to be kidding.
14 - NR Davis
Remind me to keep my kids and grandson far away from Mr. Drost...
15 - Eric Olsen
he was convicted of "kissing, fondling and engaging in other sexual acts with the girls. He escaped charges of child rape, which carry a maximum penalty of death by firing squad."
Sounds like prison-time to me