What crimes did Gary Glitter commit and is he still in prison?

A new ITV1 documentary will give an up-to-date account of the harrowing life and crimes of Gary Glitter. Real name Paul Gadd, Glitter was once seen as an iconic performer, but was later exposed as a predatory child abuser.

He committed crimes not only the UK, but across the world. The documentary Glitter: The Popstar Paedophile, highlights how Glitter was able to evade justice for decades, allowing him to travel abroad and continue offending.

ITV says: "Documenting his crimes committed both in the UK and across the globe, this new film weaves historical victim testimony, archive and interviews with those who met Glitter on the showbiz circuit, as well as lawyers involved in both the prosecution and defence of Glitter during the different trials across the decades.

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"The programme looks into how Glitter used his charismatic onstage persona to cover up his predatory offstage behaviour, meaning he was only brought to justice decades after lighting up the charts with a slew of catchy hits.

"Featuring contributors who have never spoken in a documentary about Glitter before - including his defence lawyer in Vietnam, the former Minister who fought to have him deported from Cambodia, and a lawyer representing one of his victims, this programme asks why those who suffered at the hands of Glitter in the UK were largely ignored when they first came forward."

Glitter's crimes first came to light in 1997 when he was arrested after graphic child pornography was found on his computer. He had brought it into a Bristol PC World for repair. Glitter was later charged with sexual assault of children

He was not convicted of the sexual abuse charges relating to children in his 1999 trial, but was found guilty of the possession of child pornography. After a brief jail term of just two months he left the UK and moved to Southeast Asia.

Glitter was subsequently arrested in Vietnam and, in 2006, he was convicted of committing sexual assaults on two Vietnamese children. He was jailed for three years and sent to a Vietnamese prison where he shared a cell with 18 other foreign inmates.

Glitter was released in August 2008 and returned to the UK several days later where he was added to the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Glitter became the first person to be arrested under Operation Yewtree in 2012 and was charged with the historical sexual abuse of three children, and in 2015, he was convicted of attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one of having sex with a girl under the age of 13.

In 2015 Glitter was found guilty of one count of attempted rape and one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13. He was also found guilty of four counts of indecent assault with all six offences committed in the 1970s and 80s. He was jailed for 16 years.

Glitter was released from prison in February 2023 but was returned to prison for violating the conditions of his licence.

Glitter: The Popstar Paedophile airs on ITV1 tonight (Tuesday, April 23) at 9pm. It is also available to stream on ITVX.