Gary Glitter charged with child sex offences, to appear in court

Gary Glitter has been charged with four child sex offences tied to allegations said to have taken place between 1978 and 1981 at a Kensington address. Paul Gadd, known professionally as Gary Glitter, is 82 and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 5 August.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Gadd faces one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and three counts of indecent assault on a girl under 14. The charges relate to one victim, and prosecutors said the decision was based on sufficient evidence and the public interest. That threshold matters in historic sexual-abuse cases, where allegations can surface decades later and the court process often turns on whether investigators can still build a case from witness evidence, supporting material and surviving records.

The Metropolitan Police said the allegations were first reported to the force on 9 January 2025. Gadd was interviewed under caution on 22 July 2025, before prosecutors moved to charge him. The victim is being supported by specialist officers, a standard but crucial part of how police handle cases involving alleged childhood sexual abuse, where the experience of coming forward can be as significant as the formal investigation itself.

Gadd is currently held at HMP Channings Wood. His case adds another chapter to a long criminal record that has shadowed a career that once made him one of Britain’s best-known pop figures. In the 1970s, Gary Glitter was a major glam rock star, with songs including Rock and Roll (Parts 1 and 2) helping drive his rise before earlier convictions ended that fame in disgrace.

He was jailed for 16 years in 2015 for sexually abusing three schoolgirls between 1975 and 1980. He was automatically released on licence in February 2023 before being recalled to custody. The latest charges place him back before the courts and extend scrutiny of a case that has already spanned decades, multiple victims and repeated questions over how delayed accountability works when allegations are brought against a famous defendant long after the alleged abuse.