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What's so funny Glitter?(Daily Post (Liverpool) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)VETERAN rocker Gary Glitter went on trial yesterday on charges he molested two under-age Vietnamese girls. Entering the closed courtroom, Glitter made a twofinger victory sign and said only one word: "Innocent." The former glam rocker has been accused of committing obscene acts, including kissing, fondling and other physical acts, with a 10-year-old and 11-year-old at his rented house in the southern port city of Vung Tau last year. He has denied the allegations. Glitter faces three to seven years in prison if convicted. Glitter, 61, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was escorted by police through a group of reporters into the yellow concrete courthouse in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. His trial is closed to the public, but the verdict will be read publicly today. Glitter was escorted out of the court for a lunch break after three-and-a-half hours of testimony. Reporters waiting outside shouted two questions, "Are the girls lying?" and "Did you plead innocent," to which he nodded in response to both. At the end of the day's testimony, Glitter was led out, smiling broadly, but refusing to make any comments. Afterwards, Glitter's lawyer, Le Thanh Kinh, said prosecutors presented their case and recommended that Glitter be sentenced to three to four years in prison before being deported from Vietnam. Prosecutors say they have compiled evidence that Glitter molested the two girls multiple times at his seaside villa, which he moved into last spring. However Kinh said: "He doesn't agree with the accusations. He said he's innocent. He said nothing happened." Glitter has said he was teaching the girls English at his home and considered them "like his grandchildren". He has been in custody since November 19 when he was seized in Ho Chi Minh City trying to board a flight out of the country. Police confiscated his laptop, which had hundreds of pornographic pictures on it. Police considered whether to charge Glitter with child rape, which carries a maximum penalty of death, but said they did not find enough evidence. The girls' families wrote to the court asking that charges be dropped after Glitter paid $2,000 to each of them. Although prosecutors decided to move forward with the case anyway, under Vietnam's legal system, the payments are considered "compensation" that counts toward lessening any sentence. Glitter fell from grace in Britain with a conviction in 1999 for possessing child pornography. He served half of a four-month jail term. He later went to Cambodia and in 2002 was expelled, but Cambodian officials did not specify any crime or file charges. [email protected] |