Gary Glitter gets off on child (rape charge)
Good news this holiday season in Glitter Land, a.k.a Vietnam. If you thought the story of a former glam rocker whose single hit is played regularly at sporting events and was later convicted of owning child porn was was weird, well that’s nothing compared to what’s apparently legal in ‘Nam. Gary Glitter, who has apparently only been photographed five times ever, might be getting a break.
Hanoi (dpa) - Disgraced former glam rock king Gary Glitter has paid $2,000 (about 82,000 baht) each to the families of two Vietnamese girls, ages 11 and 12, who had accused him of coercing them into sex, police and his lawyer said today. The lawyer said authorities will not charge Glitter with rape, meaning he will not face the death penalty.
OK, so apparently this whole issue is about payment. Sex with children apparently costs $2,000 per child in Vietnam. Paying up seems to make things better. Still, sex with adults is a lot cheaper, and usually free. To each glam rocker his own, I suppose.
As a result, the 61-year-old former singer, who was convicted of child pornography in his native Britain, would likely get as little as six months in prison instead of the death penalty he might have faced on child rape charges, the lawyer said.
“Gary Glitter told me to do anything to reduce the sentence and said he will pay money to do that,” Kinh told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa by telephone Tuesday. “Two weeks ago, I gave the families of the two girls 2,000 dollars each.”
That’s just bizarre. Here in the land of John Law, we have things called restraining orders that prevent the accused from contacting witnesses. In Vietnam, apparently paying them money to ask for reduced charges is the accepted norm.
However, police said this week that they have completed their investigations and would recommend that no child rape charges be pursued because there is no evidence proving that it was Glitter who had sex with the girls.
“Our investigation found out that [Glitter] just kissed, fondled and licked the girls without having sexual intercourse and that he paid them for each time he did that,” said Nguyen Duc Trinh, deputy chief of the Vung Tau police investigation unit.
Famed in the 1970s for his outrageous wigs, lame jumpsuits and for such hits as “Rock and Roll (Part 2)” and “Leader of the Gang,” Glitter was arrested in the southern seaside resort of Vung Tau on Nov. 19 after several young girls said he molested them.
Glitter’s lawyer said he raised the issue of compensation with the families shortly after his client was charged last month and that they first asked for between 5,000 and 10,000 dollars.
Later, however, the families lowered their demands. After receiving the money, the families then wrote letters in support of Glitter to the police, Kinh said.
OK, now let’s go over all this:
- Sex with a child = Rape = death penalty
- Other forms of molesting = legal gray area = Maybe some prison
- Child prostitution = Apparently not an issue, it’s the parents’ call
- Blackmail = A-OK
Now, don’t ever let anyone tell you that Communism wasn’t the way to go. Sure, the kids might have it rough, what with the semi-legal child prostitution, but it sounds like the country was practically tailor-made for perverts. Marx and Engels would be proud.
December 27th, 2005 at 9:38 am
da na na na na na, HEY!
February 20th, 2006 at 11:06 am
[…] Now, these are the same families of the victims who each already accepted $2,000 from Glitter in exchange for reduced charges. […]