The pop star Gary Glitter was sentenced to four months in prison yesterday after he pleaded guilty to 54 charges of child pornography related to "disturbing" indecent photographs of children which were discovered on his computer when he sent it for repairs in 1997.
Glitter, who was charged under his real name Paul Francis Gadd, was found guilty on all 54 charges and sentenced to four months on each charge. The sentences will run concurrently and when he leaves prison Glitter will be listed on the register of sex offenders which means he must notify the police of his address or any change in address. In an emotional appearance at Bristol Crown Court, Glitter admitted he had downloaded and stored the photographs of children, who were under the age of 16, between January 3rd, 1997 and November 18th, 1997 in a computer file.
Glitter was arrested in November 1997 after a technician at the PC World store near Bristol discovered the photographs while he was carrying out repairs on the computer. The court was told that the police investigation which followed discovered the singer "had an appetite for child pornography that was, bluntly, voracious". Initial examination of the computer found that it had been used to download and store "the most appalling images" of very young children engaged in humiliating sexual acts, Mr John Royce, QC, for the crown, told the court. Glitter had told the technician repairing his computer not to open the files.
But when the technician opened a file to check whether the repairs had been successful, he found a photograph of a naked man "rubbing his penis against the naked vagina of a very young girl". Up to 4,000 "hardcore" and "degrading" sexual images of children were stored on the computer, including one called "the lover's guide to better child sexual abuse".
It was a day full of drama in the courtroom. Earlier, with his hands clasped and his head bowed, the "glam rock" singer respectfully acknowledged the jury at Bristol Crown Court after he was cleared of all eight charges of indecent and serious sexual assault against a teenage fan, following a four-day trial.
The woman, who is now married with three children and cannot be named for legal reasons, made her allegations against Glitter after she read about his arrest over the pornographic photographs two years ago. She sold the story of her alleged relationship with him to the News of the World for £10,000 and stood to gain another £25,000 if he was convicted.
The Press Complaints Commission announced it would be investigating the alleged payments made to the witness.