Key facts
- Gary Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, faces new charges of child sexual abuse.
- The charges relate to alleged offenses between 1978 and 1981.
- Gadd denies all allegations.
- He is currently serving a 16-year sentence for prior convictions.
- Gadd was previously jailed for downloading child pornography and convicted of obscene acts with minors in Vietnam.
Paul Gadd, the 82-year-old former glam-rock star known as Gary Glitter, has been charged with new historical sex offenses. The charges, confirmed by London's Metropolitan Police, include one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13 and three counts of indecent assault against a girl under 14. These allegations are said to have occurred between 1978 and 1981, a period during which Glitter achieved significant commercial success with hits like "Rock and Roll (Part Two)".
Gadd denies the charges. He is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence imposed in 2015 after being convicted of sexually abusing three schoolgirls between 1975 and 1980. He was released on license in February 2023 but was recalled to prison weeks later for breaching the conditions of his license. His parole application was denied in June 2025.
This is not the first time Gadd has faced legal repercussions for child sex offenses. He was first jailed in 1999 for possession of child pornography. He was later convicted in Vietnam in 2006 for obscene acts with minors and deported to the UK. Following the Jimmy Savile scandal, he was arrested again in 2012 as part of Operation Yewtree and subsequently charged with historical offenses.
Prosecutors reviewed the evidence and determined that the threshold for proceeding with the case was met and that pursuing the case served the public interest. Gadd is scheduled to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on August 5, where the charges will be formally presented.