Gary Glitter victim seeks compensation over ‘the worst kind’ of abuse
A victim of Gary Glitter is bringing a compensation claim against the former glam rock singer after suffering “the worst kind” of abuse at his hands, a High Court judge was told.
The woman is suing Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, following his 2015 conviction for abusing her and two other young victims between 1975 and 1980.
At a hearing in London, the woman’s lawyer said she was seeking damages over the “profound and long-lasting consequences” of the abuse when she was 12.
Glitter, 79, did not attend the hearing on Tuesday, nor was he represented by a lawyer, with the court told he had not so far engaged with the civil case.
The woman, who cannot be identified, has previously secured a “default judgment” in her claim – a ruling in her favour over Glitter’s liability.
Serious sexual assault
Judge Mrs Justice Tipples is being asked to decide what level of compensation the woman could receive.
Jonathan Metzer, representing the victim, who joined the hearing via video link, said her claim arose out of “serious sexual abuse and assault committed on her by the defendant”.
He added: “In summary, it has had profound and long-lasting consequences for my client’s life ever since.”
The barrister said the woman had received “severe psychiatric diagnoses”, including complex post-traumatic stress disorder, with a clinical psychologist’s report detailing how the abuse had affected her mental health, relationships, education and employment.
“What we have is severe and profound consequences as a result of abuse that I think is fair to say is of the worst kind,” Mr Metzer said.
The judge adjourned the hearing to March 27 to ensure Glitter received case documents at HMP Risley in Cheshire and to give him the opportunity to respond.
Jailed for 16 years
The Parole Board rejected Glitter’s bid to be freed from jail in a decision published on Feb 7 2024.
Glitter was jailed for 16 years in 2015 for sexually abusing the three schoolgirls. His sentence expires in February 2031.
He was automatically released from HMP The Verne, a low-security prison in Portland, Dorset, in February 2023 after serving half of his fixed-term determinate sentence.
Glitter was put back behind bars less than six weeks after walking free when police monitoring showed he had breached his licence conditions by reportedly trying to access the dark web and viewing downloaded images of children.
In the late 1990s he was jailed for possessing thousands of child abuse images.
In 2002 he was expelled from Cambodia amid reports of sex crime allegations and in March 2006 he was convicted of sexually abusing two girls, aged 10 and 11, in Vietnam, and spent two-and-a-half years in jail.
The offences for which he was jailed in 2015 came to light as part of Operation Yewtree, the Metropolitan Police investigation launched in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
