Gary Glitter Will Stay In Vietnamese Prison After Failed Appeal

06/15/06 6:30pm

Gary Glitter's appeal of his conviction and three-year prison sentence for child molestation has been denied, but the '70s glam-rock star continues to sing the blues about his Vietnamese incarceration.

"There was no defence allowed!" Glitter shouted at reporters outside the courthouse in Ho Chi Minh City, according to the Associated Press. "I didn't do anything!"

The 62-year-old then yelled an obscenity before he was loaded in to a police truck and driven away.

Glitter (real name Paul Francis Gadd) was found guilty on March 3 of committing obscene acts with two 10- and 11-year-old girls at a rented villa in the Vietnamese seaside city of Vung Tau. He was accused of kissing, fondling and "engaging in other physical acts" with the girls.

The "Rock And Roll Part 2" singer maintains that he was simply teaching the girls English at his home and considered them to be like grandchildren. He admitted that the 11-year-old slept in his room, but said that it was because she was afraid of ghosts. He denies being involved in any lewd activities with the girls.

"We did not see enough evidence to reduce the penalty for the defendant," said one of the three judges who heard Glitter's appeal.

"The decision was made based on evidence, documents and testimony of the victims.

"The behaviour of the defendant is dangerous for society, especially towards children. He needs to be punished."

Glitter has been in custody since November, when he was arrested at the airport in Ho Chi Minh City as he was preparing to board a flight to Bangkok, Thailand following a police search for him.

Glitter pleaded guilty to 54 counts of possessing child pornography in England in 1999 before he moved to Cambodia. Child welfare activists there petitioned to have him expelled from the country and he eventually wound up in Vietnam.