UK court orders singer Gary Glitter to pay sex abuse victim £508k

Paul Gadd, the British pop star better known as Gary Glitter, has been ordered to pay £508,800 in damages to a woman he sexually abused when she was 12 years old.

The ruling follows Gadd’s 2015 conviction for abusing the claimant and two other young women between 1975 and 1980.

The claimant previously secured a “default judgment” in her favour regarding Gadd’s liability.

On Tuesday, Amanda Tipples, the judge presiding over the case, affirmed the woman’s entitlement to £508,800 in damages in a detailed 13-page ruling.

“There is no doubt that the claimant was subject to sexual abuse of the most serious kind by the defendant when she was only 12 years old and that has had a very significant adverse impact on the rest of her life,” the judge said.

The six-figure sum awarded includes £381,000 for lost earnings and £7,800 for future therapy and treatment costs.

During a hearing in March, the high court in London was informed that the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been unable to work for several decades due to the abuse she endured.

Jonathan Metzer, her lawyer, said the abuse has a “dramatic and terrible impact” on her education, work, and personal relationships.

The 80-year-old was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2015 for sexually abusing three schoolgirls, with his sentence set to expire in February 2031.

He was automatically released from HMP The Verne, a low-security prison in Portland, Dorset, in February last year after serving half his sentence. However, he was re-incarcerated less than six weeks later for breaching his licence conditions by reportedly attempting to access the dark web and viewing downloaded images of children.

A parole hearing in January concluded that Gadd should not be released. The parole board expressed concerns about his continued lack of victim empathy and refusal to participate in any programs to address his offending, as he continued to deny having a sexual interest in children.

A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday to consider any interest on the damages and legal costs.