Last year, Paul Gadd, more commonly known as the former glam rock star Gary Glitter, was let out of prison after serving half of his 16-year sentence. Today, he was ordered to pay $650,000 to a victim he abused when she was 12 years old.
In 2015, Gadd was convicted of having sex with a girl under the age of 13, attempted rape, and four counts of indecent assault. "There is no doubt that the claimant was subject to sexual abuse of the most serious kind by the defendant when she was only 12 years old and that has had very significant adverse impact on the rest of her life," High Court judge Mrs. Justice Tipples said in a 13-page ruling today.
The court was told that the woman, who remains unnamed for legal reasons, has been unable to work for decades due to his abuse. The money he owes her is for lost earnings, as well as for future therapy and treatment. “The claimant said that she felt totally ashamed and she would scrub herself in the bath daily and this included, on occasion, using a pumice stone to ‘scrub her face off,’ and she did not care what she looked like. The claimant just did not want to look like herself,” the judge continued.
Richard Scorer, Head of Abuse Law at Slater & Gordon who acts for the claimant, said, “In making this award the court has properly acknowledged the appalling abuse suffered by my client. Whilst no amount of money can make up for horrific sexual abuse, the award at least goes some way to recognising the devastation inflicted on my client throughout her childhood and adult life."
“Gadd’s refusal to engage with the process merely proves his utter lack of remorse, something we will be reminding the Parole Board about if he makes another application for early release," the statement added. "We will be pursuing Gadd for payment and will continue to support our client through this process.”
