The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Glitter victim sues ex-singer for £500,000
One of Gary Glitter’s victims is seeking around half-amillion pounds from the disgraced musician in damages, the High Court has heard.
The woman is suing Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, following his 2015 conviction for abusing her and two other young people between 1975 and 1980.
She has previously secured a “default judgment” in her claim – a ruling in her favour over
Glitter’s liability, with a judge now due to make a ruling on the level of damages the woman can receive. At a hearing yesterday, the court heard the woman – who cannot be named for legal reasons – has been unable to work for several decades as a result of the abuse.
The court heard part of her damages bid includes a claim for £20,000 per year for 40 years, covering the time she has been unable to work, although any award is likely to be reduced.
Jonathan Metzer, for the woman, said Glitter’s abuse had a “dramatic and terrible impact” on her education, work and personal relationships.
He told the High Court in London: “One can only begin to imagine the profound pain felt by someone who has experienced such shocking abuse... then suffered from feelings of shame and worthlessness.”
The barrister said his client was “plagued by thoughts of self-blame”, adding that her mother
had been a fan of Glitter’s music.
Mr Metzer said: “You may have concluded that his status as a rock star created an imbalance of power that he exploited.
“There was an abuse of trust... her mother was beguiled by the defendant.”
Glitter did not attend yesterday’s hearing, nor was he represented by a lawyer, with the court told
he had not so far engaged with the civil case.
Mrs Justice Tipples said she would give her decision in early May. She said: “In terms of the maths, the claim is made for 40 years... in terms of reflecting time out of the labour market.”
Glitter was jailed for 16 years in 2015 for sexually abusing three schoolgirls. His sentence expires in February 2031. He was
automatically released from HMP The Verne in February last year after serving half of his fixedterm determinate sentence.
Glitter was put back behind bars less than six weeks after walking free after police monitoring showed he had breached his licence conditions by reportedly trying to view downloaded images of children.