|
Home
Page
> Celebs
> News
28
December 2005
Gary Glitter
'Pays Money To Accusers'
Former
singer Gary Glitter paid $2,000
(£1,150) each to the families of two
Vietnamese girls he is accused of sexually
abusing, his lawyer has said.
The
money was paid two weeks ago "for
co-operation" in the upcoming legal case,
Le Thanh Kinh said.
Both
families have since written to the
authorities asking them to drop child rape
charges, which they have done.
But
Glitter, who denies all charges, is still
thought to be facing charges of child
molestation.
Police
said they had not produced enough evidence
to bring the child rape charges to
court.
If
convicted on those charges, Glitter, 61,
could have faced death by firing
squad.
"If we
pay the money for the two families, when
this case goes to court, maybe Mr Gary
will receive a lighter penalty," his
lawyer told the AP news agency.
"After
receiving the money, they informed the
investigation bureau that they don't want
to go to court and they want to drop the
case."
Prosecutor
Nguyen Van Xung told AP the money would
have no bearing on whether the case goes
to trial but that "the court may consider
it as one factor to lessen the
sentence".
But
Stephen Jakobi from campaign group Fair
Trials Abroad described the Glitter
payments as "shameful".
If found
guilty of child molestation, Glitter -
whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd -
faces up to 12 years in jail.
BBC
correspondent Tony Cheng said that,
without the co-operation of the two girls,
aged 11 and 12, who initiated the arrest,
it was unclear what evidence the
Vietnamese authorities could rely
on.
Glitter
denies allegations that he molested the
girls at his home in the resort of Vung
Tau, where he has lived for the last six
months.
He was
arrested at Ho Chi Minh City airport on 19
November as he tried to leave Vietnam for
Thailand.
His
detention was extended by four months at
the start of December while the claims
were investigated.
Glitter
was found guilty in the UK in 1999 of
possessing child pornography and served
two months in jail.
Return
To News Index
|
