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British glam rocker Glitter arrested in Vietnam on child sex allegations
11/21/2005
HANOI, Nov 20 (AFP): Disgraced 1970s glam rock star Gary Glitter has been arrested trying to flee Vietnam for Thailand and accused of having sex with underage girls, police and immigration officials said Sunday.
The 61-year-old former rocker, who previously served prison time in Britain after being found with a massive collection of hardcore child pornography, was arrested Saturday in Ho Chi Minh City airport, they said.
He was trying to skip the country on a flight to Bangkok, said an immigration official at the southern business hub's Tan Son Nhat airport.
Vietnamese authorities said last week they were urgently trying to track Glitter down after British media reported that the performer famed for his outlandish outfits and bouffant hair was living with a 15-year-old girl.
Glitter, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, is being investigated for allegedly having sex with two girls aged 12 and 17 since arriving in the country in March, state media said.
Police in the city where he was alleged to have been living in a seafront villa with the 15-year-old girl filed an arrest warrant for Glitter Friday, accusing him of indulging in "lewd acts with children".
The charge carries a sentence of up to 12 years in jail.
A British embassy spokesman said Glitter had received a consular visit.
"Mr Gadd has now been visited by British consular officials," the official said. "We are satisfied with his treatment and we'll continue to take interest in his case as we would with all other British nationals in similar situations."
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