Gary Glitter victim says he has never shown remorse and will always be a danger
'The problem with people like Gary Glitter is that they will never change.'
Disgraced popstar Gary Glitter is ‘completely unreformable’ and will always pose a danger to children, a lawyer for one of his victims has said as he makes a fresh bid for freedom.
The paedophile, 79, is believed to have appeared before the Parole Board behind closed doors on Wednesday, a move which has left his accusers feeling snubbed.
One, who was attacked after being invited backstage to his dressing room at the height of his fame in the 1970s when she was just 12, is now suing him for damages.
Richard Scorer, a specialist abuse lawyer at Slater and Gordon who represents her, told Metro he penned a letter on her behalf detailing Glitter’s ‘continuing lack of remorse’ only to be told it could not be handed to the panel who will decide whether he should be released.
Mr Scorer said: ‘We brought a civil claim against Glitter on behalf of our client for the sexual assaults that he committed against her in the 1970s.
‘He has completely refused to co-operate with that claim at all. He hasn’t answered any correspondence, he has ignored court orders requiring him to disclose information and so on, and he simply ignored everything being sent to him.
‘It doesn’t particularly surprise us because we know what kind of individual he is, but it is important the Parole Board are aware of that information.
‘But as I say, we don’t know what actually went to the parole board ahead of yesterday’s hearing. All we were told was that something would be included in a report and I do find that frankly very frustrating.’
What is Gary Glitter in prison for?
Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was jailed for 16 years in 2015 for sexually abusing three schoolgirls, including Mr Scorer’s client, between 1975 and 1980.
His sentence expires in February 2031.
He was automatically released from HMP The Verne, a low-security prison in Portland, Dorset, in February last year after serving half of his 16-year fixed-term determinate sentence.
But he was put back behind bars less than six weeks after walking free for breaching his licence conditions by allegedly viewing downloaded images of children and trying to access the Dark Web.
Why is Gary Glitter being considered for release?
Parole judges review the cases of criminals who are recalled to prison to decide whether they should be re-released or stay behind bars for the rest of their sentence.
Mr Scorer told Metro: ‘We think it’s wrong in principle that he should be released for two reasons.
‘One is because we are certain that he presents a continuing danger to children. My client feels that based on her personal knowledge of him from when she was a child, but also that’s borne out by the fact that when he was released last time he very quickly tried to look at photographs of young children and he was attempting to find out how he could get onto the Dark Web.
‘So that seems to be clear evidence to reinforce our view that he remains a continuing risk.
‘Number two is that he has shown no remorse and that is in a sense part and parcel of the same point.
‘He remains a continuing risk and has shown no remorse and no concern for his victims throughout this – literally none at all.
‘For both of those reasons we think it is fundamentally wrong that he should be released.’
The Parole Board declined to comment.
Gary Glitter ‘will never change’
The lawyer said serious sex offenders like Glitter ‘will never change’ and are ‘completely unreformable’.
He said: ‘’I think there is a fundamental problem with the idea of people who are serial sex offenders, serial child abusers, would still qualify for automatic release halfway through because the idea of release halfway through is sort of based on the idea you are seeking to reintegrate a prisoner into society and you use some time before the end of the sentence to enable that to happen.
‘The problem with people like Gary Glitter is that they will never change, and I think there is quite a lot of naivety around that among some of the professionals involved who imagine that a sex offender like Gary Glitter can be reformed in some way or can be steered away from his instinct toward sexual offending against young children.
‘I just don’t believe that. I think fundamentally, having done child abuse cases for 25 years I am absolutely certain that the vast majority of these serious sex offenders are fundamentally completely unreformable and you can’t see them as people who are really capable of being reintegrated in a successful way into society.
‘You’ve got to see them as risks to be managed and it’s wrong to start from the principle that they are entitled to release halfway through.’
What did Gary Glitter do?
The paedophile popstar was at the height of his fame when he preyed on his victims, who thought no-one would believe their claims because of his celebrity status.
He attacked two girls, aged 12 and 13, after inviting them backstage to his dressing room and isolating them from their mothers.
His third victim was less than 10 years old when he crept into her bed and tried to rape her in 1975.
The allegations only came to light nearly 40 years later when Glitter became the first person to be arrested under Operation Yewtree – the investigation launched by the Metropolitan Police in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
His fall from grace occurred years earlier after he admitted possessing 4,000 child pornography images and was jailed for four months in 1999.
In 2002, he was expelled from Cambodia amid reports of sex crime allegations, and in March 2006 he was convicted of sexually abusing two girls, aged 10 and 11, in Vietnam and spent two-and-a-half years in jail.
What has the Parole Board previously said?
A spokesperson previously told Metro of Glitter’s case: ‘Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
‘A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.
‘Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing.
‘Evidence from witnesses such as probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements may be given at the hearing.
‘It is standard for the prisoner and witnesses to be questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care.
‘Protecting the public is our number one priority.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.