Gary Glitter, a disgraced former pop singer, was released from prison after completing half of his 16-year sentence.
The 78-year-old Glitter, whose actual name is Paul Gadd, was jailed in 2015 for attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault, and one count of having sex with a minor.
The judge stated at the time that it was evident that all of his victims “were severely damaged” by the assault.
Glitter was among the most popular musicians of the 1970s.
Gadd was at the height of his career when he attacked two 12- and 13-year-old girls in his dressing area after inviting them backstage.
In 1975, his youngest victim was less than 10 years old when he attempted to rape her in her bed.
Judge Alistair McCreath stated during sentencing that there was “no meaningful indication” that Gadd had atoned for his misdeeds.
He called Gadd’s abuse of a girl under the age of 10 “appalling” and stated, “It is difficult to emphasize the heinousness of this behavior.”
Judge McCreath stated, “You caused enduring harm to all of them for the sole purpose of obtaining sexual enjoyment of an entirely inappropriate nature.”
Gadd had rejected the claims against him, but after a three-week trial, he was found guilty.
He was released from HMP The Verne, a category C low-security prison in Portland, Dorset, at the halfway point of his sentence. As a sex offender, his license will now be subject to restrictions.
Years later, Gadd became the first person to be arrested under Operation Yewtree, the inquiry established by the Metropolitan Police Department in the wake of the Jimmy Savile affair.
Operation Yewtree Det Ch Insp Michael Orchard called Gadd a “repeat sexual predator who utilised his famous status.”
Gadd, playing as Gary Glitter, was one of the most popular glam rock artists in the United Kingdom throughout the 1970s, with three UK number-one hits, including “I’m the Leader of the Gang” (I am!).
He was jailed to four months in 1999 for gathering thousands of child pornographic pictures.
In 2002, he was expelled from Cambodia in the wake of charges of a sex crime. In March 2006, he was found guilty of sexually abusing two young Vietnamese girls and sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
Glitter, who was accused of kissing, fondling, and participating in other sexual actions with the girls, was acquitted of more serious accusations of child rape, which carried a maximum sentence of execution by firing squad.
In 2008, the former pop star returned to the UK and had to sign the sexual offender’s registry.
In 2012, he was arrested at his London residence following an investigation by officers from the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal-inspired Operation Yewtree, before the case that led to his most recent conviction went to trial in January 2015.
