Glitter jailed for child abuse in Vietnam
Date Posted: 3/3/2006

(AP) - A Vietnamese court has convicted former glam rocker Gary Glitter of committing obscene acts with two young girls. The disgraced singer was sentenced to three years in prison followed by deportation from the country.

Glitter, 61, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was found guilty during a two-day trial of molesting a 10-year-old and an 11-year-old at his rented seaside villa in southern Vung Tau last year.

The court announced the verdict following a trial that had been held in closed session to protect the girls' privacy.

A melee erupted in the courtroom when Glitter shouted "I'm innocent" after the judge's ruling.

Police were forced to push through a throng of reporters to escort him to a waiting prison van.

Glitter, who looked visibly thinner since his arrest, has been held at Phuoc Co prison outside Vung Tau since November.

He has been in police custody since November 19, when he was caught at Ho Chi Minh City airport trying to board a flight for Bangkok.

His fall from grace began with a conviction in Britain in 1999 for possessing child pornography. He served half of a four-month jail term.

He later went to Cambodia and in 2002 was expelled from that country, but Cambodian officials did not specify any crime or file charges.