Ex-pop star Gary Glitter released from UK prison after serving half of 16-year sentence

Former 1970s glam rocker Gary Glitter was released from a British prison on Friday after serving half of a 16-year sentence for sexually abusing young girls decades ago.

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According to Britain’s Ministry of Justice, the 78-year-old singer, whose real name is Paul Gadd, will serve the remainder of his sentence under probation, The New York Times reported. Gadd is best known for his 1972 top-five hit, “Rock and Roll (Part 2),” an instrumental anthem that is commonly played at sporting events and has appeared in films.

Gadd was sentenced in 2015 for attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one of having sex with a girl under 13, according to the BBC.

“Sex offenders like Paul Gadd are closely monitored by the police and Probation Service and face some of the strictest license conditions, including being fitted with a GPS tag,” the Ministry of Justice said in a statement. “If the offender breaches these conditions at any point, they can go back behind bars.”

Gadd was at the height of his popularity when he was accused of attacking two girls, ages 12 and 13, after inviting them to his dressing room, the BBC reported. His youngest victim was less than 10 years old when he allegedly tried to rape her in 1975, the news outlet reported.

Gadd was arrested in October 2012 as part of an investigation called Operation Yewtree, The Associated Press reported. The probe was launched to investigate child abuse accusations against longtime BBC host Jimmy Savile, according to the Times.

In 1999, Gadd was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to the possession of 4,000 images of child pornography, Variety reported.

In 2006 he was convicted of sexually abusing two underage girls in Vietnam and sentenced to three years, of which he served 2 1/2 years, according to the entertainment news website.

In 2019, the music label that owns “Rock and Roll (Part 2)″ said that Gadd would not receive any royalties from the use of his song in “Joker,” the Times reported.

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