Gary Glitter freed, heads for Britain

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam -- Former British rock star Gary Glitter has been released from a Vietnamese prison where he served time on a child sexual abuse conviction, his attorney says.

Attorney Le Thanh Kinh told The Times of London Tuesday the 64-year-old 1970's glam rocker, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was released from Thu Duc prison, 90 miles northeast of Ho Chi Minh City and was driven to Tan Son Nhat airport.

The newspaper said Glitter was on his way back to London. He was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City in 2005 and charged with committing obscene acts with two girls, aged 11 and 12. He was released early from his three-year sentence.

If he returns to Britain, Glitter will be met at the airport by police and required to sign an official sex offender registry, The Daily Telegraph reported. By law, he would have to notify police if he planned to move or change houses and would be banned from owning a computer, surfing the Internet or going near children, authorities said.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is urging the government to bar Glitter from going on any sex tourism trips if he returns to the country.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.