Gary Glitter victim seeks six-figure compensation to redress impact of child abuse

One of Gary Glitter’s victims is seeking around £500,000 in compensation from the pedophile former pop star for the mental harm she suffered as a result of his abuse.

The woman is suing Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, after he was convicted in 2015 of abusing her and two other young victims between 1975 and 1980.

The woman’s lawyers told London’s High Court she was seeking damages because the abuse she suffered when she was 12 had “profound and lasting consequences”.

She previously obtained a “default judgment” on her claim, meaning liability against Glitter was found in her favor.

At Wednesday’s hearing, the court heard the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been unable to work for decades as a result of the abuse she suffered.

The court heard part of her compensation claim included a claim for £20,000 a year for 40 years, covering the time she was unable to work, although the amount could be reduced.

Jonathan Metzer, speaking on behalf of the woman, said Grete’s abuse had had a “huge and horrific impact” on her education, work and relationships.

He told London’s High Court: “One can only begin to imagine the profound anguish felt by a person who has experienced such shocking abuse… and then suffers feelings of shame and worthlessness.”

The barrister said his client was “haunted by thoughts of remorse”, adding that her mother was a fan of Griet’s music.

Mr Umezawa said: “You might have concluded that his status as a rock star created a serious imbalance of power that he exploited.

“This was an abuse of trust…her mother was deceived by the defendant.”

Glitter did not attend the previous hearing, was not represented by a lawyer and was told by the High Court that he had not been involved in the civil case so far. Judge Tipples said she would make a decision in early May.

The parole board previously rejected Glitter’s bid to be released from prison in a decision issued on February 7.

In 2015, Glitter was jailed for 16 years for sexually abusing three female students. His sentence is due 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.

Glitter was back behind bars less than six weeks after his release after police surveillance showed he breached license conditions by trying to access the dark web and view downloaded images of children.

The former pop star was jailed in the late 1990s for possessing thousands of child abuse photos.

He was deported from Cambodia in 2002 on sex crime charges. In March 2006, he was jailed for two and a half years in Vietnam for sexually abusing two girls aged 10 and 11.

The crimes for which he was jailed in 2015 came to light as part of Operation Yewtree, the Metropolitan Police investigation launched in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.