Glitter Still Guilty

Thu., Jun. 15, 2006 9:45 AM PDT by Josh Grossberg

Gary Glitter will have plenty of time to ponder the vast "plot" against him. Three years to be exact.

That's how much the former glam rocker will be serving in a Vietnamese prison after an appeals court on Thursday upheld his conviction on child-molestation charges.

Appearing before a three-judge panel dressed in black and sporting a white Fu Manchu-style goatee, the 62-year-old Glitter shook his head several times and reportedly looked aghast as the People's Supreme Court of Appeals in Ho Chi Minh City denied his bid to overturn his sentence during the 40-minute session.

"[The court] rejects the appeal of the accused and sentences him to three years in prison for obscene acts with children," published reports quote chief judge Truong Vinh Thuy as telling him.

The "Do You Wanna Touch" singer, born Paul Francis Gadd, was found guilty Mar. 3 of committing obscene acts on two girls, ages 10 and 11, at his seaside villa in the South Vietnam resort city of Vung Tau.

"We did not see enough evidence to reduce the penalty for the defendant," the judge continued. "The decision was made based on evidence, documents and testimony of the victims.

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

As he was led out of the courtroom by police, Glitter vehemently condemned the proceedings.

"There was no defense allowed. I didn't do anything!" the crooner shouted to a group of foreign journalists.

His attorney, Le Thanh Kinh, told reporters outside the court that the entertainer believed he was the one who's been victimized in a "plot" orchestrated by U.K. tabloids, witnesses and the girls' families because, his lawyer claimed, "the evidence relating to his case looked like evidence from the newspapers."

As news of Glitter's failed appeal spread, in the United States, the National Football League moved to have teams stop playing the singer's greatest hit, the stadium-friendly anthem "Rock and Roll Part 2," in the upcoming season.

"Most of the teams understand the reasons, and ultimately, it's their decision, but we encourage them not to play it," NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told E! Online. "In terms of the music that's played, pre-game or halftime, that's controlled by the teams, not the NFL."

Glitter will become eligible for parole after serving one-third of his term, which means that counting time served, he could potentially be out by Christmas.

In 1999, he pleaded guilty in Britain to 54 charges of child pornography after investigators confiscated his computer. He ended up serving two months in prison and was placed on a child sex offender list. He tried to settle in Cambodia, but child advocacy groups forced him out of the country and he eventually settled in Vietnam.