Shamed pop star Gary Glitter was recalled to prison after allegedly being caught attempting to access the ‘dark web’ 38 days after his release.
The pedophile, 78, was seen using a smartphone in a bail hostel, violating the licensing terms of his release.
He was filmed staring at the screen saying he was trying to find “the onion,” a term for the notorious online domain used by pedophiles and other criminals for its difficulty in tracking or tracing users.
When he was chased out of the bailey hostel at 6:05 p.m. Monday night under a brown blanket, the residents cheered, reports The Sun, with one of the words: ‘Tidied up! We don’t want him back.’
The sex offender was released last month after serving half a 16-year prison sentence in 2015 for sexually assaulting girls under the age of 13 during his pop music heyday in the 1970s.
Now Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, will have to face a UK Parole Board hearing to determine if he is fit to be released. The prison recall followed calls for action following the publication of a video obtained by The Sun on Sunday in which he says: ‘So what do I do now? Let’s try to find this onion.’
Pedophile Gary Glitter is reportedly being ‘sent back to prison’ just a month after being released from prison. The disgraced rock star, 78, (pictured in his bail hostel) was allegedly caught ‘trying to access the Dark Web on his phone’
Tonight, just after 6pm, Glitter left the bailey hostel in the south of England in an unmarked police car, escorted by a police van. He hid in the back with a blanket for cover.
Former Home Secretary Priti Patel had said Glitter should be sent back to prison, adding: “This is very shocking and makes you sick.” Ex-Secretary of Justice Robert Buckland, KC, had urged the Justice Department to take “quick action.”
Glitter is pictured under a brown blanket in the back of an unmarked police vehicle that is taken back into custody Monday night. He was heard saying that he is trying to find “the onion” in the bail hostel, which is a term for the infamous online realm the Dark Web, used by pedophiles because it is difficult to track or trace users
Gary Glitter is photographed in Vietnam in 2007, where he served three years in prison on child molestation charges
The Justice Department had said on his release that he would face “some of the toughest licensing conditions” and could go back behind bars if he violated them at any time.
After moving into the hostel, protesters gathered outside the property and reportedly chanted demands that he be removed from their neighborhood.
“That’s why we set strict licensing conditions and when violators violate them, we don’t hesitate to return them to custody.”
It came as Richard Scorer, head of abuse law at Slater and Gordon, who represents one of Glitter’s victims, said his release was “particularly distressing and traumatic” for those he attacked.
The sex offender was at the height of his fame as he preyed on his victims, who believed no one would believe their claims due to his celebrity status.
He assaulted two girls aged 12 and 13 after inviting them backstage to his dressing room and isolating them from their mothers. His third victim was less than 10 years old when he crawled into bed with her in 1975 and attempted to rape her.
The allegations only came to light nearly 40 years later when Glitter became the first person arrested under Operation Yewtree – the investigation launched by the Metropolitan Police in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
The 78-year-old was released from HMP The Verne, a category C maximum security prison in Portland, Dorset, after serving eight years of a 16-year sentence imposed in 2015 for sexually abusing girls under the age of 13 during his glam rock heyday in the 70s and 80s.
Glitter (pictured in 1972) was released after serving a 16-year half-prison sentence imposed in 2015 for sexually abusing girls under the age of 13 during his glam rock heyday in the 1970s and 1980s
He was previously sentenced to four months in prison in 1999 for a vile cache of 4,000 child abuse images found on his computer. Glitter went abroad and was convicted again in 2006 of sexually assaulting two girls in Vietnam.
Glitter was subject to licensing conditions upon release, which included close police and probation surveillance and GPS tagging.
Last night, former Attorney General Robert Buckland called KC for “quick action” after the released pedophile was filmed apparently discussing the sinister “Dark Web.”
Leading Tory MP Mr Buckland, who was also Lord Chancellor, told the Daily Mail: ‘I would have thought there would be license terms prohibiting this type of activity and I hope the Justice Department takes swift action to rectify this. to take.’
Former Home Secretary Priti Patel said if Glitter breached the conditions imposed when he was released last month, he should be sent back to prison immediately.
“This is very shocking and makes you feel sick,” she added.
The Justice Department said: ‘Sex offenders are closely monitored by the police and probation service and face some of the strictest licensing conditions, including restrictions on internet use. If an offender violates these terms, he may be recalled to prison.”
But human rights laws protect the internet use of even prolific pedophiles like Glitter. Judges of the Court of Appeal ruled more than a decade ago that it was generally wrong to impose blanket bans.
That means it’s hard to monitor Glitter’s activities. He was released from prison in Dorset and was at the hostel in the south of England, which is in leafy grounds behind security gates.