Vietnamese victim of Gary Glitter demands recompense

By Sen    January 6, 2020 | 12:50 am PT
Vietnamese victim of Gary Glitter demands recompense
Gary Glitter arrives at a court in central London for child molestation on February 5, 2015. Photo by AFP/Leon Neal.
A Vietnamese woman molested by disgraced British pop star Gary Glitter aged 10 is filing for compensation.

Diem, now 25, lives with her mother in the Mekong Delta.

Her case is led by Preda Foundation, a Philippines-based human rights organization that supports victims of abuse and exploitation.

"10-year-old Diem underwent untold trauma at the hands of British pedophile Gary Glitter, and because of phobia, has failed to marry," Shay Cullen, president of Preda Foundation, said.

In 2005, her aunt brought Diem to a seaside villa in southern beach town Vung Tau where Glitter, then 61, repeatedly abused her.

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, from London, sold more than 20 million records, achieved fame in the 70s and 80s. The success made him a millionaire, in addition to the money he earned from selling the rights to his back catalogue.

Glitter's depraved targeting of minors in Vietnam was hardly his first offense.

He first served time in 1999 for storing images of child abuse. After his two-month U.K. jail spell, he visited Spain and Cuba, where he fathered a son. Glitter was booted out of Cambodia in 2003 and moved to Vung Tau in 2005.

In November the same year, the paedo was confronted by a British journalist, leading to a police investigation into his activities. He spent several days in hiding before being arrested.

Diem provided evidence at his trial in Vietnam the following year, leading to Glitter being jailed for three years for molesting her and another 12-year-old girl.

He is serving a 16-year jail term handed in Britain in 2015 for sexually abusing three young girls between 1975 and 1980.

Diem now works at a hair dresser and beauty parlor where she earns $65 a month.

Diem's case is currently in the preliminary stages, with the law firm Preda tasked with procedures busy collating the necessary documentation and evidence, including the court decision convicting Glitter in Vietnam.

Diem will give her testimony via video link.

The judge handling the case will review the testimony, and based on the evidence and the extent of harm done to Diem, will determine the amount of compensation.

Cullen said Diem holds no doubts about filing the claim. "She is an empowered young woman and has the self-confidence to state her case. She has that Vietnamese fighting spirit that demands justice," he said.

Diem, through the help of a British journalist, agreed to work with Preda to file the claim after the High Court of Justice in London ruled last year convicted pedophile Douglas Slade pay £127,000 ($166,177) to five boys he had abused in the Philippines for years.

The boys' claim for compensation was spearheaded by the foundation.

 
 
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