Gary Glitter Arrested In BBC Sex Scandal
Former pop star Gary Glitter was arrested by London police Sunday morning on suspicion of sex charges in the spreading Jimmy Savile sex scandal, the BBC reported.
Glitter, 68, whose real name is Paul Gadd, has previously been jailed in Vietnam for child sex offenses. He was taken from his home into custody at a London police station.
Earlier this month it was alleged that Glitter raped a girl of 13 in his dressing room at BBC’s television center, the Telegraph reported. The attack, in the 1970s allegedly took place as Savile was groping a 14-year-old in the same room.
Scotland Yard’s new task force investigating the mushrooming child molestation charges, called Operation Yewtree, are now dealing with at least 300 alleged victims, the Telegraph said.
Investigators have so far spoken to 130 people who have come forward, and 114 allegations of crime have emerged since the first expose on Savile, the late, beloved “Top of the Pops,” host, almost a month ago.
Of those who have made statements, at least 60 are believed to have made allegations against individuals other than Savile, the Telegraph says.
Their claims detail the alleged abuse of vulnerable young people at institutions including the BBC, hospitals and children's homes.
Other British – and American -- celebrities now fear exposure, the Telegraph asserted, without naming any.
In 2009 Savile, who died at age 84 last year, defended Glitter, who has been convicted of downloading child pornography in Britain and abusing children in Vietnam.
Savile said: "If you said to that copper, what's Gary Glitter done wrong? Well nothing really. He's just sat at home watching dodgy films."
Glitter was convicted in Vietnam in March 2006 of "obscene acts" with two girls aged 11 and 12, and returned to London in August 2008 after his release from prison.
The BBC has come under assault after an investigation into the accusations against Savile by the current affairs program “Newsnight” was abruptly canceled. Chris Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust, which oversees the broadcaster, said in an article in The Sunday Mail that the BBC’s “reputation is on the line” and that the organization “risks squandering public trust,” as a result of the scandal.
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