Paedophile ex-rocker Gary Glitter ‘showed no remorse’ during a hospital stay as he talked about having the ‘time of his life’ while living in Asia when he was convicted of child sex attacks
Vile Gary Glitter described a trip to Asia during a period when he abused girls as “the time of his life”, a hospital carer has revealed.
The woman, who looked after Glitter when he had an operation, said the paedophile showed no remorse for his crimes. She came forward after reading our story about how the 81-year-old appears to have finally admitted he poses a danger to young girls and agreed he should stay in jail.
But the healthcare support worker said she was sceptical about the claim after spending time with the shamed rocker three years ago. “The thing that stayed with me was that he had no remorse,” she said.
“He was trying to make friends with the nurses, talking about being abroad in Cambodia and what a wonderful place it was with beautiful people and how he spent some of the best times of his life there.
“I felt sick when I found out later he had been accused of abusing children over there. It was really chilling to reflect on what he said about his memories of those trips and then be told what he had done.
“That was what he was talking about when he said it was the best time of his life. He had no remorse. You would have thought he would have felt guilty about it but he was saying it was the best time of his life, it was chilling. It was like he doesn’t know he’s done anything wrong.”
Glitter was first jailed in 1999 for possessing thousands of child abuse images. After completing his jail term, he resettled in Cambodia, where he lived on and off for years before being expelled in 2002 after reportedly trawling for child sex.
Four years later he was sentenced to three years in neighbouring Vietnam for sexually abusing two girls aged 11 and 12. Glitter was jailed in the UK in 2015 for sexually abusing three schoolgirls, and released in 2023 after serving half his 16-year sentence.
But within weeks he was recalled to The Verne prison in Dorset – a sex offender unit – for breaching his licensing conditions by allegedly downloading images of children online.
The former rocker was an inpatient at the Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester, in 2022 for a knee operation when he was handcuffed to the bed watched by two jail guards.
The hospital worker, in her 30s, said Glitter was a “demanding” patient, adding: “He was really pervy with the female hospital staff saying ‘hiya sweetheart’ and giving a wink. He had a well-groomed goatee beard and always wore yellow tinted sun glasses to try to look like a celebrity but he looked daft in a hospital gown.”
Glitter agreed with the latest Parole Board decision to keep him in jail. It said he still has “an uncontrolled interest” in young girls and added: “He had accepted he should not be released at this time.”
He is due another parole attempt in two years but faces the prospect of serving his full sentence until 2031, when he will be 87.
A psychological assessment last year found the former glam rocker “continued to evidence a sexual interest in young females and held attitudes that supported the sexual abuse of children”.
The report added: “It was recommended that he should engage with accredited programmes in custody designed to address sexual offending. After considering the full details of the case, the panel was not satisfied that release at this point would be safe for the protection of the public.”
Glitter was declared bankrupt in March after refusing to pay £508,000 in damages awarded by the High Court last year to a woman he raped when she was 12.
Her lawyers successfully launched an enforcement action. The case was at Torquay and Newton Abbot county court in Devon.
It means a trustee can now take over Glitter’s assets, including his £2million penthouse in Central London, and use them to pay the victim. It is understood at least two more victims have since come forward to sue the former singer.
Documents filed at Companies House show a firm he founded, now run by associates, has £137,873 in assets. It paid off the mortgage on his flat in the capital. He is also understood to still be raking in royalties while in jail.
Glitter sold millions of records in the 1970s and is believed to get cash as a songwriter each time his tunes are played on radio, TV or at a sports event.