Gary Glitter parole hearing to be heard in private despite plea from his victims
The parole hearing of disgraced singer, Gary Glitter, will take place in private, the Parole Board has announced.
The convicted paedophile - real name, Paul Gadd - was recalled to prison in March within weeks of his release after allegedly breaking his licensing conditions by downloading images of children online. The singer, 79, had served half of his 16-year sentence for sexually abusing three schoolgirls and was subject to licence conditions, including having a GPS tag.
Lawyers for one of Glitter's victims applied for his parole hearing - during which the singer is set to argue his case for freedom - to be conducted in public, arguing the disgraced pop star poses an ongoing risk to children and his case is of significant public interest.
Gary Glitter was recalled to prison in March within weeks of his release after allegedly breaking his licensing conditions (Getty Images)However, Caroline Corby, the chair of the Parole Board of England and Wales, has announced the convicted paedophile is currently expected to face a Parole Board hearing in private on January 24 next year.
Turning down the bid for a public hearing, saying she believes proceedings could lead to the identity of sexual abuse victims being revealed, Ms Corby said the application was made on the basis that Glitter “has shown no remorse and the circumstances of his recall suggest that his offending may be continuing”.
Gary Glitter freed after serving half his jail sentence for sex abuse of 3 girls
She said: "If the hearing were to be in public…there are concerns with respect to victim anonymity, protecting sensitive operational information about Mr Gadd’s recall and risk management plan and ensuring that Mr Gadd and witnesses are able to speak openly.
“Although this case of sexual offending against children is very distressing, there are no special features of this particular case which set it apart from other cases and which may therefore add to the proper public understanding of the parole system.”
She added a public notice of the outcome of the hearing would be produced, and Glitter's past victims can apply to watch parts of the private hearing themselves.
The singer, who had a string of hits in the 1970s - including I'm the Leader of the Gang - was found guilty of one count of attempted rape, one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and four counts of indecent assault after a three-week trial in 2015.
His offences came to light nearly 40 years after they happened, when Glitter was the first person to be arrested under Operation Yewtree – the investigation launched by the Metropolitan Police in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Jimmy Savile's depraved actions will be explored in a new four-part series, The Reckoning, which stars Steve Coogan as the Jim'll Fix It host and starts on BBC One at 9pm tonight.
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