Gary Glitter charged with new sexual abuse of a minor

British glam rock singer Gary Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, has been convicted multiple times and is now facing new charges for historical sexual abuse of a minor. On Thursday July 2, the London Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service announced that the 82 year old singer is being charged with one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of thirteen and three counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of fourteen. The alleged offences are said to have taken place at a property in the London borough of Kensington between 1978 and 1981.

The woman who made the allegations came forward to police in January 2025. Gadd was then interviewed later that year in July as part of the investigation. The charges were brought after investigators and prosecutors concluded there was sufficient evidence to take the case to court. Bethan David, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor at CPS London, said about this: "This follows allegations made by a woman relating to a period of alleged abuse that took place between 1978 and 1981. Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring this case to court and that it is in the public interest to do so." The woman is currently being supported by specialist officers.

Gadd is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on August 5 to face the charges. He is currently being held at HMP Channings Wood in Devon, England. His criminal record is extensive: in 1999 he pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography in the United Kingdom, and in 2006 he was sentenced to three years in prison in Vietnam for abusing two girls aged ten and eleven.

In 2012, Gadd was arrested again in London, this time as part of Operation Yewtree, a large scale British investigation into historical sexual abuse that grew out of allegations against the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile. In 2015, Gadd was found guilty of abusing three young girls and sentenced to sixteen years in prison. After serving half his sentence he was released on licence in 2023, but was back behind bars within a month after allegedly breaching his conditions by viewing images of children. In early 2024, the Parole Board ruled that he would not be released again.

Gadd was also declared bankrupt in the spring of 2025 after failing to pay more than 500,000 pounds to a victim. That woman had been abused as a twelve year old and was awarded damages of just over 500,000 pounds in 2024. Richard Scorer, a lawyer representing one of Gadd's victims, had previously responded to the Parole Board's decision by stating that Gadd "remains a risk to children and has never shown any remorse."