Glitter Serves His Time

Former glam rock star Gary Glitter will be released from a Vietnamese jail at the end of the month, after serving a 27-month sentence on charges of molesting young girls.

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, has been in Thu Duc prison since 2005. He was arrested at Ho Chi Minh airport while trying to leave the country and was sentenced to three years in jail following a one-day trial where he pleaded not guilty.

The conviction was upheld on appeal, but the sentence was reduced by three months.

"When he is freed, it is his right to go anywhere he wants," a prison officer told the Guardian, although most of the U.K. papers say he’s likely to be deported.

Children’s charities including the National Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Children have warned the government that the ’70s hitmaker will be a danger to youngsters if he returns to the U.K., according to the Daily Mirror.

They are reportedly demanding his movements be monitored and have called for a foreign travel ban.

He will have to sign the sex offenders register and be tagged, but the charities are concerned that orders banning sexual offenders from traveling abroad are not working. Only three orders have been issued since 2003.

"Gary Glitter is responsible for a catalogue of sexual crimes against children. We know about him because of his fame but many other sex offenders not in the public eye are falling off the radar," said NSPCC policy head Diana Sutton.

The charity wants the authorities to have the power to confiscate passports.