WARNING: This article contains details of incidents of sexual assault that some readers may find traumatic. Discretion is advised
If you or anyone you know suspects child abuse, you are urged to immediately call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential and the hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
MEKONG DELTA, VEITNAM: A woman, who was raped by Gary Glitter when she was 10, wept after learning that the pedophile would soon be released from prison after completing only half his sentence. The survivor reportedly said, "I'm still serving a life sentence." Glitter, 78, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2015 for horrifying crimes against children, but he will be released early in 2023 after serving only eight years.
When Glitter repeatedly assaulted one of his victims, "Ms D," in 2005 in his villa in Vietnam, she swore that she would sue the rich ex-pop star for damages. She reportedly said, "He is free to enjoy his money and his life now, but I live with what that man did to me every day of my life," per Daily Mail.
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Paul Gadd, also known as Glitter, was sentenced to prison in February 2015 for crimes committed between 1975 and 1980. His offenses included assaulting a girl and engaging in sexual activity with a girl under the age of 13, as well as attempting to rape an eight-year-old. He was given "determinate sentence," which meant that the risk he posed to the public would not be independently evaluated prior to his anticipated release early in 2023, which marks precisely eight years since he was given a 16-year sentence on February 5, 2015, as per Daily Mail.
'She still has nightmares about Glitter's torture'
Judge Alistair McCreath said that he felt he could have imprisoned Glitter for a longer period of time but was limited by sentencing guidelines for crimes committed in the '70s. Glitter, who was also sentenced to four months in prison in 1999 for owning pictures of child abuse, brought Ms D to his home in Vietnam, where he brutally abused her. She bravely testified against him, along with another victim who was 12, and Glitter was sentenced to three years in prison before being deported to the UK. When Ms D, now 27, learned that Glitter would shortly be out of prison, she expressed shock. In a nation where female abuse victims are frequently stigmatized, she claimed that she still had nightmares about Glitter's torture and that she always feared being linked to the notorious case. "I will never find anyone to love me, and I will never be able to marry because of what happened. No man here will accept someone with my past,’ she reportedly said from her home in the rural Mekong Delta. She hopes Glitter will be banned from ever traveling again. "There were many other victims apart from me in Vietnam," she stated, adding, "He should never be allowed to leave England again because he is a very dangerous man, and he will do bad things again."
'Survivors live with the effects every day'
Glitter, who still owns property in London and had resided in a $2.4M mansion apartment in Marylebone, will probably have to comply with restrictions after his release, including an ankle tag. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood's chief executive, Gabrielle Shaw, reportedly stated, "These are in no sense "historic" crimes, as survivors live with the effects every day."
'Ms D had to quit school at age of 14'
Ms D, who had once been one of the smartest students in her class, quit school at the age of 14 as a result of her ordeal. Her mother had a stroke that left one half of her paralyzed, and she never fully recovered from the trauma of what had happened. Since her mother was forced to quit her job, her family struggles to make ends meet on an income of $190 per month. They lived in a basic home with a tin roof, while struggling to pay rent.