Three years for Glitter is too little, say child charities

Published on Saturday 4 March 2006 01:49

GARY Glitter could be deported to the UK by the end of this year following his conviction yesterday for sexually molesting two young girls in Vietnam.

The former glam rocker was sentenced to three years for "committing obscene acts" with a ten-year-old and an 11-year-old at his rented seaside villa in southern Vung Tau last year. But he would be eligible for parole in a year, after serving a third of his time, his lawyer said.

The 61-year-old has already spent four months in Phuoc Co prison after his arrest in November in Ho Chi Minh City as he was about to fly out of Vietnam.

Although he will definitely be deported, it is not guaranteed that he will return to the UK. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "It is up to the country issuing the deportation to decide where they deport them to."

If Glitter were to be returned to the UK, it is likely that the British authorities would be informed "as a courtesy".

The Seventies singer would also be placed back on the sex offenders' register in the UK.

In 1999, he was jailed for four months and placed on the register for seven years for possessing 4,000 hardcore photos of children being abused. That term expires early next year.

A Home Office spokeswoman said a notification order under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 enabled the police to apply to a magistrates' court for a person convicted or cautioned for a sexual offence abroad to be put on the UK register. This order would only be made if that offender were resident in the UK.

Glitter's conviction in Vietnam means he could not be prosecuted on the same charges in the UK, but if new evidence came up, he could face charges under the Sex Offences Act 2003 which covers "sex tourism" abroad.

Charities applauded his imprisonment but said the sentence should have been longer. Bill Bell, head of child protection at Save the Children, said: "A sentence of 12 years was possible and a longer sentence would have given a much stronger signal of the repugnance with which these crimes against children should be viewed. Save the Children unreservedly condemns the sexual exploitation of children in any country - but particularly in countries where Western wealth can take advantage of local poverty.

"The sentence on Gary Glitter - especially the time he will spend behind bars before being deported - is insufficient either to punish him for the abuse or to act as a strong deterrent to other sex tourists."

In a two-day trial closed to the press, graphic testimony was heard from the girls that Glitter fondled and molested them in his home and in nearby hotels.

Last December, his lawyer made compensatory payments to the girls' families, who later appealed for clemency for him.

Judge Hoang Thanh Tung said yesterday that Glitter "committed obscene acts with children in a disgusting and sick manner".

Glitter, who has 15 days to appeal, said - apparently referring to the UK tabloid press: "I'm innocent - it's a conspiracy by you know who."