03 January 2024 , 18:12
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One of paedophile Gary Glitter’s victims is “angry and frustrated” that his parole hearing will be private.
Glitter, 79, was returned to jail in February when he was caught trying to surf the Dark Web. He had breached his bail conditions just 39 days after being automatically released half-way through a 16-year term for sexually abusing three girls when they were 13 and under.
He could be free again after the parole hearing on January 24. An application to have it in public was rejected in October.
Lawyer Richard Scorer, who acts for one of the victims, said: “My client remains very angry and frustrated that there is going to be a private hearing. The process and the evidence to be considered by the Parole Board will be effectively shrouded in mystery.
“Ultimately the basis of any decision will be unclear because nobody will know what evidence the Parole Board has considered. We have called for the hearing to be public which has been refused and we think this is unacceptable and wrong.”
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A decision on whether to free Glitter is expected in February. He was first jailed in 1999 after child abuse images were found on his laptop. He was then jailed in Vietnam in 2006 for abusing two girls aged 11 and 12.
Glitter returned to the UK in 2008 and became the first suspect to be arrested under Operation Yewtree – the investigation launched in the wake of the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal.