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Gary Glitter appeals conviction |
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Written by asap
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Thursday, 15 June 2006 |
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 HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — British rocker Gary Glitter, 62, declared his innocence as he went before a Vietnamese court Thursday to appeal his conviction and a three-year prison sentence for molesting young girls.
 Glitter -- who was famous in the 1970s as an outrageous act decked out in bouffant wigs and sequin jumpsuits -- was found guilty by a court in March for committing obscene acts with girls ages 10 and 11 at a seaside villa in southern Vietnam.
He arrived Thursday for his appeal before the People’s Supreme Court of Appeals in Ho Chi Minh City, wearing all-black clothes and aviator sunglasses and escorted by Vietnamese police.
“I’m innocent, of course,” he told dozens of foreign journalists as he walked into the courthouse. “I should be released.”
Glitter hit his musical peak in the 1970s with hits that included “Leader of the Gang” and “Do You Wanna Touch Me.” He is perhaps best known for the crowd-pleasing anthem “Rock and Roll (Part 2),” which is often played at sporting events.
RULING EXPECTED SAME DAY
The three-judge panel was set to decide whether to uphold or overturn the verdict in a closed, one-day hearing, and the ruling was to be announced later Thursday.
Glitter, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was accused of kissing, fondling, and “engaging in other physical acts” with the girls at his rented villa in the seaside city of Vung Tau, about 80 miles southeast of Ho Chi Minh City.
He has maintained his innocence, saying he was teaching the girls English at his home and considered them “like his grandchildren.”
He has admitted to police that the 11-year-old girl slept in his room because she was afraid of ghosts, but denied committing any lewd acts, his attorney Le Thanh Kinh said.
GLITTER HAS PRIOR CONVICTIONS; BLAMES TABLOIDS
In 1997, Glitter brought his computer to be repaired, and thousands of hardcore pornographic images of children were found on it. He was convicted in Britain in 1999 of possessing child pornography, and served half of a four-month jail term.
He later went to Cambodia and in 2002 was expelled from that country, though Cambodian officials did not specify a crime or file charges.
Glitter accused British tabloids such as The Sun and The News of the World of “damaging his reputation” and that “the evidence relating to his case looked like evidence from the newspapers,” Kinh said Wednesday.
Asked what he would do if he is released Thursday, Glitter responded dryly, “Have a beer.”
He said he plans to return to Britain. | Only registered users can write comments.
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