Jailed glam rock star Gary Glitter has appeared in court charged with a fresh set of historic sexual offences, after prosecutors alleged he lured a schoolgirl to his west London home with chocolates before repeatedly molesting her when she was between eight and 11 years old.
Gary Glitter, the disgraced 1970s pop star already serving a 16-year prison sentence for child sex offences, has been charged with a fresh batch of sexual offences alleged to have taken place between 1978 and 1981 against a girl who was between eight and 11 at the time. Glitter, 82, whose real name is Paul Gadd, appeared via videolink at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, where he faces one charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and three counts of indecent assault on a girl under 14. Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay KC told the court the alleged offences occurred at Glitter’s former home in Kensington and Chelsea, west London, when the complainant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was of primary school age.
Allegations detailed in court
According to the prosecution, Glitter would give the girl, who lived close to his home, chocolate and “invite her into his house where he then committed a number of serious sexual offences.” The Metropolitan Police first received the new allegations in January 2025, and detectives went on to interview Gadd under caution later that year before the Crown Prosecution Service authorised the charges.
During his police interview, Gadd denied the allegations and told officers he did not know the complainant, even after being shown a photograph of her. Mr Polnay confirmed to the court that Gadd had maintained the allegations were false.
Frail appearance and hearing difficulties
Glitter appeared via videolink from a room at HMP Channings Wood in Devon, where he is currently serving his sentence, wearing a blue shirt, glasses and a cap. He appeared frail on screen. When asked to confirm his name, he told the court: “Your honour, excuse me, I’m extremely deaf and unless I’m lip-reading I can’t hear.”
He went on to make a request to the court: “Sorry, your honour, may I make a suggestion? If the barrister turns the volume down a little bit, it wouldn’t be so distorting in my hearing aids.”
Case sent to the Old Bailey
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring remanded Glitter into custody, with the case to next be heard at the Old Bailey on 2 September. The judge said it had yet to be determined whether Glitter would appear via videolink or in person at that hearing.
Explaining the decision to send the case to the Crown Court, Goldspring told Glitter: “You face charges that include an offence which is indictable only, which means only the crown court can deal with it. The other three charges are related because it’s the same complainant. In that circumstance, all four charges are sent to crown court, the Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, where you will appear on September 2.” The unlawful sexual intercourse charge can only be tried at Crown Court level, which is why all four charges have been sent together. Glitter has not yet entered pleas to any of the new charges.
Background: a long history of offending
Glitter is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence, imposed following his 2015 conviction for attempting to rape one girl and sexually abusing three schoolgirls between 1975 and 1980. He was released on licence in February 2023 after serving half of that sentence, but was recalled to prison within weeks after breaching his licence conditions. His most recent application for parole was refused in 2025.
Glitter’s history of offending extends beyond the UK. In 2006, he was jailed in Vietnam after being convicted of committing obscene acts involving two girls aged 10 and 11. He had previously been deported from Cambodia over separate allegations of child sexual abuse.
