Gary Glitter Jailed For 16 Years Over Sex Attacks

Former glam rocker Gary Glitter has been jailed for 16 years after being found guilty of a string of historical sex attacks on three schoolgirls.

The 70-year-old, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was convicted of one count of attempted rape, one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, and four counts of indecent assault.

One of his victims included a girl who was less than 10 years old when he crept into her bed and tried to rape her in 1975.

Glitter, who denied all the charges, also attacked two girls, aged 12 and 13, after inviting them backstage to his dressing room, and isolating them from their mothers.

Sky's Enda Brady, at London's Southwark Crown Court, said Glitter showed no reaction as his sentence was handed down and he was led from the dock.

As he arrived at the court earlier, he waved at two friends in the public gallery.

The former chart topper was at the height of his fame when he preyed on the youngsters.

Glitter's lawyer told the court their client is "a very different man now".

However, Judge Alistair McCreath, who remanded the disgraced star in custody after the verdicts last month, told him his offences were "truly appalling".

There was standing room only in court as loyal fans of the singer gathered in the public gallery to see him learn his fate.

Before the hearing they had huddled together, poring over a Glitter annual, sharing tales of their fandom.

Sentencing the singer Judge McCreath said: "I have read the victim impact statements of all three victims. It is clear, in their different ways, they were all profoundly affected by your abuse of them.

"You did all of them real and lasting damage and you did so for no other reason than to obtain sexual gratification for yourself of a wholly improper kind."

He added: "The offences for which I must pass sentence today took place many years ago at a time when in particular, in respect of one of them, the maximum sentence was considerably lower than that which is now available."

He earlier said that the guidelines dictated that he must take the current sentencing options into account.

The trial heard that Glitter attacked the 12-year-old girl after a show at a Leicester nightclub in 1977.

She initially went backstage with her mother and had a gold jacket autographed while drinking champagne, but was then invited to the singer's hotel suite.

Jurors were told Glitter pushed her on to a bed and subjected her to a prolonged period of sexual abuse.

He also assaulted a girl in his dressing room at a Watford club in 1979 and 1980.

Glitter claimed there was no way this could have happened because his rigorous wig-maintenance routine required him to return to his suite immediately and clean his hairpiece.

The allegations came to light when Glitter became the first person to be arrested under Operation Yewtree - the investigation launched by the Met Police in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.