DISGRACED Seventies rock star Gary Glitter has been accused of having sex with two girls - one aged just 12, police said today.
The girls told the authorities they had sex with the former glam rocker at his home in Vietnam, according to police.
The 61-year-old, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was arrested on Saturday at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City as he tried to flee the country.
He left his rented home in the southern resort of Vung Tau a week ago amid allegations about his relationships with two teenage girls.
Glitter has been taken back to Vung Tau for further investigation by the police.
He has not been charged with any crime but remains in custody at a jail outside the coastal city, police said.
Vung Tau police said today they were continuing to investigate the case and will be questioning him further.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the arrest of a British national and consular support is being provided."
Interviews
In Vung Tau, a police officer said the two girls, aged 12 and 18, claimed in interviews with police that they had gone to Glitter's home and had sex with him there.
There were conflicting reports that the second girl had not yet turned 18.
Under Vietnamese law, sexual contact with a minor carries varying degrees of penalties, depending on the charge.
"Obscene acts with a child" can lead to up to 12 years in prison while child rape carries the maximum penalty of death before a firing squad.
"Having sex with a 12-year-old girl, regardless of whether he had her consent, is still considered child rape under Vietnamese law," the police officer said.
The case has been highly publicised in the state-controlled media, which had reported that Glitter was seen in Vung Tau with several teenage girls, whom he invited to his home, since moving to the area in March.
Last week, the foreign ministry said Glitter had been living in Vung Tau since March and had applied for permanent resident status in Vietnam.
Authorities interviewed a 15-year-old girl they found in Glitter's home, ministry spokesman Le Dung said.
"If evidence of a (legal) violation is found against Mr Paul Francis (Gadd's middle name), and especially evidence of sexual child abuse, I believe that very strict legal measures will apply to him," Dung said.
Glitter was convicted in Britain in 1999 of possessing child pornography and served half of a four-month jail sentence before being released.
He later went to Cambodia and was permanently expelled in 2002, reportedly for trawling for underage sex, although Cambodian officials did not specify his crime or file charges.
Comments
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The one good thing about this disgusting crime is that perpetrators can be tried in their home countries now and about time too.
Why do you think these scumbags come to developing countries, the weather?
It is all too easy to buy off law enforcement officers in this part of the world and yes some people actually sell their children they might say that they have gone working in a restaurant but they know where the kids end up.
Every now ang again there will be some European deported but its just a drop in the ocean.
Its not just Europeans by the way there is some some home grown scum as well, as I can't read Thai but my wife is Thai and she shows me some articles in the Thai press re children being abused.
The only way to stop this is to be extra vigilant in the home country of these disgusting people and when found guilty punish them to the full extent of the law.
Seems this also displays that the UK prison service does nothing to make offenders of this disgusting crime (of any kind..be it pictures and so on) see the error of their ways.
Glitter, Gadd or whatever name he trades under wants castrating and locking up forever.
As the previous poster wrote too many go to the far east for to indulge in these perversions, the thing is..how do we stop them ?
Castration and hard labour for life would be a start. If this oxygen thief is facing the bullet, i bet that this government would stick it's nose in. I think that certain crimes such as this, should mean that Consulate aid is withdrawn and they should face the full weight of the law in that country. Then the devient could be eliminated, by a firing squad of the victims families. Even better, just turn him over to the families.
I agree with John Hughes, get rid of these perverted disgusting lowlifes.