[Steve]

Taken from the BBC news..

British former rock star Gary Glitter has been jailed for three years after a Vietnamese court found him guilty of sexually abusing two young girls.

The jury found that Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, had molested the girls, aged 11 and 12, at his home in the resort town of Vung Tau, southern Vietnam.
The 61-year-old, who claimed he was innocent, said the "unbelievable" verdict was part of a "conspiracy".
He will be deported after he has served his sentence, possibly back to the UK.

Compensation

He may be considered for release after serving a third of his jail term, which includes the four months he has been held in custody since his arrest.
In addition to the prison sentence, Glitter has been ordered to pay 5m Vietnamese dong (£180/$315) to his victims' families.

Glitter was said to have committed a series of "lewd" acts while the girls were at his beach house in Vung Tau.

The two-day trial was held behind closed doors because of the girls' age, but the media were allowed into court on Friday to hear details of the evidence against Glitter and the verdict.

Referring to Glitter during sentencing, the judge, Hoang Thanh Tung, said: "His lewd acts have compromised the dignity of the Vietnamese people, law and common sense, and therefore it is necessary to punish him."
He later told reporters he believed Glitter understood he had "a sickness".
Photographers and journalists crowded around the former singer after sentencing.

Glitter told them: "I haven't done anything - I am innocent. It is a conspiracy by you know who."

He suggested some British newspapers were part of a conspiracy against him.
As he was led away from the courthouse and into a prison van, Glitter, sporting a white, goatee beard, held a clenched fist in the air.
His lawyer said his client had not yet decided whether to appeal against the decision.

The British embassy said in a statement: "Both the UK and the Vietnamese governments take the issue of child-sex tourism extremely seriously.

"We are grateful to the Vietnamese authorities in permitting UK-Vietnam police liaison in this case, as part of wider ongoing UK-Vietnam police liaison on the issue of sex tourism."

Glitter shot to stardom in the 1970s with hits such as Rock and Roll (Part 2) and Leader of the Gang - a No 1 single in the UK in 1973.

Glitter, known for his flamboyant stage persona and extrovert costumes, continued touring for most of the 1980s and 1990s.

UK conviction

He had been in custody since 19 November when he was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City as he was about to board a flight out of Vietnam.
In December, Glitter's lawyer made compensatory payments to the families of the girls, who later appealed to the courts for clemency for Glitter.

Glitter was convicted of possessing child pornography in Britain in 1999 and served half of a four-month jail sentence.

He later went to Cambodia, which permanently expelled him in December 2002.

He had been held in jail for three nights over suspected sex offences, but never convicted of a crime in Cambodia.

Glitter had previously left the country voluntarily in May that year, following a police investigation prompted by news of his child pornography conviction in the UK.

Its all wrong to me, the monster is in and out of jain for a few months at a time and then just moves on to a new country and ruins the lives of some other poor innocent girl. There is definately something wrong with the law systems of the world

[minimeeze]

If all the claims are found to be true, then these sick people should receive the death penalty. How many innocent lives have to be ruined before some serious action is taken?
I feel that sex related crimes are not taken seriously enough

[GfK]

Originally Posted by minimeeze

If all the claims are found to be true, then these sick people should receive the death penalty

I'm all in favour of the death penalty when guilt has been proven beyond all doubt... but on the other hand, you're hardly making them suffer for their crime. Personally I think prisons should be rows of cages, one person to a cage, chained to the wall by their feet and fed a diet of bread and water. Maybe then, would-be criminals would stop seeing a prison sentence as an extended stay at Butlins.

[CT]

I always found the creep a bit sinister, even going back to when he was at his peak. The way he's howling he's been fitted up now, I rather suspect that apart from bunging the two kids families, he's probably greased a few other palms out there, and expected to walk away from this one, but with the glare of media publicity, they've had to give him some jail time.

3 years isn't enough, but I bet a Vietnamese prison is a bit different to the pathetic system here now.

[SammyC]

Originally Posted by GfK

I'm all in favour of the death penalty when guilt has been proven beyond all doubt...

... and that's the thing. It's almost impossible to prove anything beyond all doubt.

Do you trust our judicial system enough if it was your life on the line? I don't.

And please don't think trial by media (which is what we have in this country) is any proof of guilt.

BTW, I agree with Gfk, prison for bad people is the way forward.

[jewel]

Originally Posted by minimeeze

If all the claims are found to be true, then these sick people should receive the death penalty.
I feel that sex related crimes are not taken seriously enough

I agree, but in my opinion I think the death penalty is an easy way out for them. The victims will live with the abuse for the rest of their lives I am sure, so they should too. I say castrate them, lock em up and throw away the key. Let them live the remainder of their pathetic existence rotting in a jail cell.

Jewel.

[Warspite]

I agree with the make them suffer, unfortunately they rarely do - thats the bit that gets me. Its a pathetic sentence, but (and I say this through gritted teeth) at least he didnt walk, which lets face it, happens quite often these days.

[Venomator]

Not only all that and more ... but am I reading the figures right in the compensation bit ??? Absolutely horrifying if I am ... it is nothing but a further insult !

Shoot first and ask questions later for me in these sick cases ...

[Madpup]

Has a father of a teenage girl i think a slow painfull death
would be best for this animal.

[Dave]

I think place them in prison with some of the worst sex offenders of adults, so they can experience what it's like to be abused.

[Glen]

Originally Posted by DJW

I think place them in prison with some of the worst sex offenders of adults, so they can experience what it's like to be abused.

Sounds good to me, or instead of placing him in a seperate perverts area, just stick 'em with the other cons, and they'll soon sort him out. I say bang him up if he comes back!!!

[busterboy]

A gallon of petrol and a box of matches..

I would gladly give that sicko a painful ending..

[digitalfailure]

Sad thing is he'll be eligable for parole by christmas because of their system and his time already served. Then i'd imagine that vietnam will kick him out of the country (with luck!). BUT he'll be on the prowl again.

A bullet through the noggin will sort him out once and for all.