Historic abuse case prosecution
Gary Glitter Charged With Historic Child-Sex Offences From 1978
Anonymous
Key Points
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Bethan David, the CPS London Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, stated there is 'sufficient evidence' to bring the case and that it is in the 'public interest' to prosecute Paul Gadd on one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and three counts of indecent assault on a girl under 14.
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The Metropolitan Police began handling the allegations after they were reported on January 9, 2025, with Glitter's first police interview taking place on July 22, 2025, as investigators looked into abuse said to have occurred between 1978 and 1981.
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Glitter is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on August 5 this year, as part of the latest historic-abuse case.
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Glitter is currently jailed at HMP Channings Wood in Devon, reportedly using a wheelchair; his current sentence is due to end in February 2031, and he has denied the allegations.
Gary Glitter, the disgraced British pop star whose real name is Paul Gadd, has been charged with four historic sexual offences against a young girl, according to Reuters. The 82-year-old faces one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and three counts of indecent assault on a girl under 14. The alleged abuse took place between 1978 and 1981 at a Kensington address in west London.
Gadd is currently serving a 16-year sentence at HMP Channings Wood in Devon. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on August 5, 2026. He has denied the new allegations, Devon Live reported.
CPS Authorises Charges After Six-Month Investigation
A woman reported the historical allegations to the Metropolitan Police on January 9, 2025, according to Manchester Evening News. Detectives interviewed Gadd under caution at HMP Channings Wood on July 22, 2025. The Crown Prosecution Service then reviewed the evidence before announcing charges on July 2, 2026.
Bethan David, CPS London's Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: "Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring this case to court and that it is in the public interest to do so." The charges fall under the Sexual Offences Act 1956, the law in force at the time of the alleged offences.
Gadd Jailed and Wheelchair-Bound as New Case Begins
Gadd spends roughly 23 hours a day locked in his cell at HMP Channings Wood's Vulnerable Prisoner Unit, according to East Lothian Courier. Reports from early 2026 describe him as wheelchair-bound and in significant physical decline. His current 16-year sentence does not expire until February 2031.
Legal experts say his physical condition could raise questions about his fitness to stand trial. If convicted on the new charges, any additional sentence would likely run consecutively. That would mean Gadd, already 82, would almost certainly remain in custody for the rest of his life.
A Criminal Record Stretching Back Decades
The new charges are not Gadd's first brush with the law. He was convicted of possessing child pornography in the UK in 1999. In 2006, he was convicted in Vietnam for committing obscene acts with two girls aged 10 and 11. Then in 2015, Operation Yewtree brought his most serious conviction: sexually abusing three schoolgirls between 1975 and 1980, earning him a 16-year sentence.
He was briefly released on licence in February 2023 but recalled to prison within weeks. Authorities found he had attempted to access the dark web, breaching his parole conditions, according to Manchester Evening News. The new case marks what prosecutors call a fresh wave of historic-abuse accountability.
Metropolitan Police Vow Support for Historic Abuse Victims
The Metropolitan Police reiterated their commitment to victims of non-recent sexual offences. Officers said survivors will be "listened to and supported" no matter how much time has passed, according to Devon Live. The woman who came forward in January 2025 has been kept informed of every step in the charging process.
Campaigners say the case could encourage other survivors from the 1970s music scene to report abuse. The UK has no statute of limitations on serious sexual offences. That legal principle — that it is never too late to seek justice — sits at the heart of the CPS decision to proceed despite the allegations being more than 45 years old.
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