For many people, the name Gary Glitter has long ceased to be associated with chart-topping glam rock hits. Instead, Paul Gadd’s legacy has become defined by criminal convictions for sexual offences against children and a succession of investigations spanning decades.
Now, the 82-year-old has been charged with four further historical sexual offences.
The Metropolitan Police allege that Gadd committed one offence of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13 and three offences of indecent assault on a girl under 14. The allegations concern one complainant and relate to events said to have taken place between 1978 and 1981 at a residential address in Kensington, London.
Police say the allegations were reported in January 2025 before an investigation led to Gadd being interviewed by detectives. The Crown Prosecution Service has since authorised the charges, stating that there is sufficient evidence for the matter to proceed and that a prosecution is in the public interest.
These are allegations only. Gadd has not been convicted of these new offences and is entitled to a fair trial. It will now be for the courts to determine the case.
However, the charges come against the backdrop of Gadd’s extensive criminal record. In 2015, he was convicted of attempted rape, multiple indecent assaults and an act of intercourse with a girl under 13 following a high-profile trial at the Old Bailey. Those offences, committed between the 1970s and 1980s, resulted in a 16-year prison sentence. Earlier, he had also served a prison sentence in Vietnam for offences involving children.
Part of that sentence was served at HMP The Verne on Portland in Dorset, a Category C prison that has housed several high-profile offenders. His incarceration there attracted significant public interest, reflecting the strength of public feeling surrounding crimes involving the sexual abuse of children.
That attention intensified when comedian Jim Davidson publicly called for Gadd’s release. Davidson argued that the former entertainer had served enough time and should be allowed to spend his remaining years outside prison. His intervention proved highly controversial, with victims’ groups and many members of the public condemning the remarks. Critics argued that public sympathy should remain with victims and survivors of child sexual abuse rather than with offenders convicted of such crimes.
The latest prosecution is another reminder that allegations of child sexual abuse can be investigated many decades after they are said to have occurred. Advances in investigative practice, together with greater willingness among survivors to come forward, have resulted in increasing numbers of historic cases reaching the courts.
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that the complainant in this case is being supported by specialist officers throughout the investigation.
Gadd is due to appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court. As criminal proceedings are now active, the case will be determined by the courts, and it is essential that the legal process be allowed to take its course without prejudice.
