Glitter Molestation Trial Opens in Vietnam
Published
(Mar. 2) -- The trial of former British rocker Gary Glitter opened Thursday on charges that he molested two underaged Vietnamese girls at a seaside rental home in southern Vietnam.
The former glam rocker has been accused of kissing, fondling and committing other obscene acts with a 10-year-old and an 11-year-old at his residence in the southern port city of Vung Tau last year. He has denied the allegations.
Glitter, 61, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, wore black pants, shirt and cap as police escorted him through a scrum of reporters Thursday morning into the yellow concrete courthouse in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.
Glitter held up two fingers in a victory sign and said only one word: "Innocent."
The trial is closed to the public but the verdict will be read publicly on Friday. He faces three to seven years in prison if convicted.
The former rocker has said he was teaching the girls English at his home and considered them "like his grandchildren."
Glitter is known for his 1972 hit "Rock and Roll Part 2," which is still played at sporting events.
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