Convicted paedophile Gary Glitter, 82, is deaf and on his “last legs” behind bars at HMP Channings Wood in Devon, according to jail insiders. The disgraced singer, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, is so frail he can barely walk around his cell and is under special orders for unwell inmates.
PEEP alert for frail inmate
Prison guards have placed Glitter under a number of alerts, including a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP). This is a written, bespoke emergency escape procedure for prisoners who cannot use standard emergency exits unaided due to old age, disability, mobility impairments or sensory loss.
An insider revealed that because of how ill he has become, Glitter is now subject to one of these alerts. The source said: “Peep’s are created for our cons who are in the most ill heath. Basically if there was ever a fire or emergency evacuation officers would have to carry him out - that’s how bad he is. He can’t hear either - and all officers have been made aware of that on an internal system.”
Enhanced prisoner with limited movement
Glitter is also listed as an Enhanced Level prisoner, part of the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) scheme, which means he gets more privileges but barely leaves his cell. Enhanced level is awarded to prisoners who have behaved well and allows him to wear his own clothes, have a television in his cell for private use, and have higher weekly spending limits from private cash sent by family or friends.
As a registered sex offender, he is on a “no contact with children” order, meaning he cannot interact with any child, whether family or not, including visitors of other inmates. Despite being known as a dangerous offender, insiders say his menace is lessening with every passing month.
The insider continued: “He has been due at court a couple of times this year, but it has to be via videolink as there is no way he can do the journey. The truth is his body is packing up, and all that arrogance he came in with has now gone. He just looks like a frail old man.”
Court case and background
A source added previously: “Most people would struggle to recognise him now. He seems to be on his last legs, with his body giving up. And if he doesn’t get parole soon most officers and inmates think he will see out his days in jail.”
An insider also said Gadd is regarded as “arrogant in prison and most inmates don’t like him.” They said: “He has to be kept on a VPU as it is not solely a jail for sex offenders. He is kept out of harm’s way because he would not be safe on another wing, but he is spending up to 23 hours a day in his cell.”
The Ministry of Justice was approached for comment but said it does not comment on individual prisoners. This month Gadd pleaded not guilty to eight allegations of sexual abuse against a girl when she was aged between eight and 11. He is accused of offences against the girl between 1978 and 1981, after allegedly giving her chocolate and inviting her to his home in Kensington and Chelsea, west London.
He denies four charges of indecent assault with a girl under 13, two counts of sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, and two counts of indecency with a child under 13. All charges relate to the same individual, alleged to have taken place between 12 March 1978 and 31 December 1981. Gadd said he was “absolutely not guilty” to two of the eight charges and repeated “not guilty” to the remaining six. Judge Tony Baumgartner adjourned the case for a three-week trial starting on 22 November 2027.
Glitter was one of the biggest stars of his time, selling 18 million records in five years in the early 1970s, with hits including Rock And Roll (Parts One And Two), I'm The Leader Of The Gang (I Am), and Do You Wanna Touch Me. His career ended after his 1999 conviction of downloading child sexual abuse material. He was also convicted of child sexual abuse in 2006 and a series of sexual offences, including attempted rape, in 2015.
