Glitter set for early jail release

Shamed ex-glam rocker Gary Glitter could be released early from his jail sentence for molesting two Vietnamese girls.

Shamed ex-glam rocker Gary Glitter could be released early from his jail sentence for molesting two Vietnamese girls.

Paul Gadd aka Gary Glitter
Paul Gadd aka Gary Glitter

Glitter (62) whose real name is Paul Gadd, is 10 months into a three-year jail term for molesting two young girls.

Prison chiefs at the Thu Duc detention centre said he is on a list of inmates being considered for early release as part of next month's Lunar New Year celebrations.

If his sentence is reduced, Glitter could be released as early as May, as prisoners must serve at least half their sentence.

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But should he settle again in the UK, Glitter is likely to face tightened procedures surrounding the return of those convicted of serious offences abroad.

Officials will want to make sure that Glitter, possibly the highest profile Briton convicted of sex offences overseas, does not slip through the net.

The musician will be required to notify police of his details, which will be added to the sex offenders register.

Home Secretary John Reid was holding urgent talks today after it was revealed hundreds of criminals who committed offences abroad may have escaped vetting procedures in the UK.

Glitter was jailed in March last year for sexually molesting the two girls, aged 10 and 11, in the southern Vietnamese coastal city of Vung Tau.

Vietnam traditionally reduces the terms of inmates with good prison records at the Lunar New Year. Under Vietnamese law, prisoners can be nominated for early release if they have behaved well and their fellow inmates recommend it. Nearly everyone in the jail voted for Glitter's early release, according to Tran Huu Thong, director of the Thu Duc detention centre.

"He meets all the criteria," he said of the ageing British glam-rock star, whose 1970s hits included Leader Of The Gang and Do You Want to Touch? Nearly all the prisoners recommended for early release receive it, he added.

The Home Office said they could not comment on individual cases. But a spokeswoman said that further measures are available to the police as well as notification requirements. If police consider an offender continues to still pose a risk of serious sexual harm, they could then apply for a sexual offences prevention order.

This would make Glitter subject to notification requirements for between five years and life. It could also also include prohibitions, similar to those made under an Asbo, such as banning him from entering areas used by children.

A spokeswoman for the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said handling the return of individuals who have offended overseas was at the centre of today's meeting.

Last year it was reported that Glitter faces immediate deportation on release, and is unlikely to have any choice over where the Vietnamese authorities send him.

Glitter left the UK after admitting possession of a collection of 4,000 hardcore photographs of children being abused, and receiving a four-month jail sentence in November 1999.

He was also put Glitter on the sex offenders' register for seven years. In 2002, Glitter was deported from Cambodia after the country's deputy prime minister Sar Kheng asked for him to leave as a "preventative measure for protecting the well-being of our children".