Gary Glitter, the 79-year-old singer whose real name is Paul Gadd, appeared before the parole board this week in a bid to be freed from prison. Gadd was convicted of sexually abusing three young girls between 1975 and 1980, resulting in his 2015 sentencing of 16 years for attempted rape, indecent assault, and having sex with a girl under 13. The judge at the time, Alistair McCreath, found “no real evidence” that Gadd had shown remorse for his actions.
Gadd was released from prison in February 2023 after serving half his sentence, but returned to custody the following month for breaking his bail licence conditions. As reported by The Mirror, Gadd appeared before a panel as they considered whether to free him again, but the hearing was held in private. Specialist abuse lawyer Richard Scorer, representing one of Gadd’s victims, said she was not given the opportunity to read her witness impact statement, nor was the Parole Board directly provided with Scorer’s letter detailing Gadd’s “total lack of remorse.”
Scorer commented that his client had issued a claim for damages against Gadd for “the appalling sexual assaults which he committed on her when she was 12 years old,” but Gadd had refused to co-operate or follow court orders, making the process more traumatic for his victim and demonstrating “Gadd’s total lack of remorse.”
Parole board decisions are usually made public 14 days after the hearing, absent any adjournments in the case. In October 2023, the request for Gadd’s parole hearing to take place in public was denied because it was difficult to contact all his victims. Netflix announced its plans in March 2023 to develop a three-part documentary series about Gary Glitter
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