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Rocker Gary Glitter Convicted Of Sex Abuse

British pop star Gary Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London, on Thursday. A jury convicted Glitter, born Paul Gadd, of sex offences in the 1970s and '80s against girls between the ages of 8 and 13.
Kirsty Wigglesworth
/
AP
British pop star Gary Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London, on Thursday. A jury convicted Glitter, born Paul Gadd, of sex offences in the 1970s and '80s against girls between the ages of 8 and 13.

Rocker Gary Glitter, best known for the stadium rock anthem "Rock & Roll (Part 2)," has been convicted of sex offenses during the 1970s and '80s against girls between the ages of 8 and 13.

The jury convicted the 70-year-old of six offenses, including attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one of having sex with a girl under the age of 13. That last charge carries a life sentence.

Judge Alistair McCreath said Glitter, born Paul Gadd, will remain in jail until he is sentenced on Feb. 27.

Glitter, who was arrested in October 2012, has denied the allegations against him. He was previously convicted of child sex abuse in 2006 in Vietnam and sentenced to three years in prison. In 1999, he was convicted of possessing as many as 4,000 images of child abuse and jailed for four months.

The Guardian reported that Glitter "raised his eyebrows and looked shocked when the verdicts were read out. He blew kisses to the public gallery, full of reporters, as he was led down to the cells."

Prosecutors had said the "immunity of fame" had left the father of three unpunished for his crimes for decades.

Glitter was the first person to be arrested as part of the British investigation into allegations of child abuse against the late BBC television host Jimmy Savile.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Krishnadev Calamur is NPR's deputy Washington editor. In this role, he helps oversee planning of the Washington desk's news coverage. He also edits NPR's Supreme Court coverage. Previously, Calamur was an editor and staff writer at The Atlantic. This is his second stint at NPR, having previously worked on NPR's website from 2008-15. Calamur received an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri.