A mother of a 13-year-old schoolgirl fan of Gary Glitter wept as she told a court she had taken her daughter to meet the star backstage as a “surprise” after a concert.
Her idol asked her to sit on his lap, forced her to kiss him and put his hand up her skirt when they were alone in his dressing room, the jury was told.
Now aged 70, Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, is facing trial at Southwark crown court, accused of a series of child sexual offences, including the attempted rape of an eight-year-old and the indecent assault of two young fans, one of whom he allegedly plied with champagne in order to have sex with her.
He denies all charges.
It took his 13-year-old alleged victim more than 30 years to tell anyone what happened, the court heart – initially her family in 2012, and then, by reporting her allegations to police in 2013.
Giving evidence, the mother of the teenager broke down as she recalled how her daughter, who is now 48, kept the alleged assault a secret for decades. The backstage introduction to the star had been arranged through her boyfriend at the time, who was in the music industry, she told the court.
Asked what her daughter thought of the singer, she replied: “She thought he was great.”
The singer had asked her daughter to sit on his lap, which she did, she said.
John Price, QC, prosecuting, asked the mother: “Did you say anything about that?”
She said: “Not really, no.”
The 13-year-old earlier told the court that Gadd abused her after her mother left his dressing room with her boyfriend.
Her mother said: “I honesty can’t remember if I went out or stayed in the room, I’m not sure.”
Price asked her if she saw anything which she considered to be wrong, she replied: “No.”
She said she did not now anything about it until ”recently” when her daughter called to tell her about it in the wake of Operation Yewtree.
“And then she told me what had happened, that Gary Glitter had abused her.”
The woman’s sister, who was too young to go to the concert, said she too only heard about the allegations in November 2012.
Giving evidence, the sister told the court: “She said that she went to his room and then he tried to stick his tongue down her throat.”
Jurors heard she sent her sister a text on 1 November 2012 that read: ‘Yes you should [report it] and not being funny but compensation! I know it is horrible to say but fucking hell you deserve something for all the mental torture.”
Gadd is accused of indecently assaulting the girl twice between October 1979 and December 1980.
The case continues.
