Gary Glitter - does he deserve it

[David Bailey]

I doubt that 50 years ago people like glitter would have been caught or prosecuted.

I remember the coverage of Bill Wyman and Mandy Smith, and that was only 25 years ago. The coverage was salacious, and hardly critical at all - if anything, it was sympathetic towards Wyman for being "fooled" into thinking she was 16 when she was actually 13, and it was used by Smith to launch her singing career. And of course that career included the subtly-titled track "I just can't wait".

What would the media say now about a 47-year-old man who was dating a 13-year-old girl? Well, we know what they'd say, we see it every day.

Attitudes have changed vastly, just in the couple of decades. There's less tolerance of this sort of thing - which I agree with - but there's also a lot of media hysteria about it - which I don't.

For example, I don't think it's appropriate for a boy of 16 to be put on the Sex Offenders Register for having a relationship with (say) his 15-year-old girlfriend. But that could happen.

Is the justice system still that bad that we could actually put an innocent man down.

Good grief, of course it is - it's that bad in the UK, God knows how bad it is in Vietnam.

[stewart38]

I'm with you two! Sounds like the beginnings of an angry mob!!

Truth, did you use paint ?

Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog: Pediatrician mistaken for pedophile

Gary Glitter - not guilty, the two words dont go well together.

Gary Glitter - Prison- served time- free man

How about them, then ?

Come on, let's admit it - it's quite funny, really, isn't it?

I don't know I haven't read the book yet

I hear England dont want him, so going to now send him to scotland

Garry Glitter will have to go to Scotland on a sheep farm Daily showers in sheep dip News of the World 24th August

[Lee Bartholomew]

Gary Glitter - not guilty, the two words didn't go well together. Is the justice system still that bad that we could actually put an innocent man down. I didn't know the In's and out;s of what that pervert did but i have always been of an opinion there is no smoke without fire. I have not heard him protesting his innocence anyway, has anyone else?

In short, Yes. It happens all the time.

If he did protest his innocence, how would the papers report it "Paedophile Glitter " I didn't do it" ' . They would re-word it against his favour.

I personally do not believe a work the papers say and barley read them anymore. With all forms of media, you have to take it with a pinch of salt.

For example, Our local paper had a big front page article on the carnival queen. The headline read "Carnival queen makes porn pictures". It went on to say how disgusting these pictures were and how degrading it was to women etc. The Carnival committee then fired her as a result.

The following week after she made a complaint, they re-run the story with the links to these 'porn pictures'. Turns out it was a lingerie shot for a littlewoods catalogue !!!!!!!

[rubyred]

For example, I don't think it's appropriate for a boy of 16 to be put on the Sex Offenders Register for having a relationship with (say) his 15-year-old girlfriend. But that could happen.

The sex offenders register is catagorised at different levels of risk, and in some circumstances at the lower end of risk a person may be on the register for a set amount of time, others may be on for their lifetime. With regards to a 16yr old boy being placed on the register, firstly there must have been a complaint made by the, in your example 15yr old girl. That complaint will have been investigated by the police, actioned by the CPS as to whether there was enough evidence before it was brought to court and sentance given by the Judge. If when the 16yr comes to maturity and say for example has a family of his own, a Child Protection Plan conference will be held and a plan will be formulated to establish what risks and the level of risks he poses to the child or any child he comes into contact with. The plan will then set into place protection for the children he comes into contact with.

The young man in your example had committed a crime by having sex with a 15yr old and was found guilty by virtue of his sentance and name on the register, therefore to safeguard children he should not be exempt from the safeguarding policies that are in force to protect children.

[stewart38]

.

The following week after she made a complaint, they re-run the story with the links to these 'porn pictures'. Turns out it was a lingerie shot for a littlewoods catalogue !!!!!!!

Any link to support this ???

[Dreadful Scathe]

Gary Glitter - not guilty, the two words dont go well together. Is the justice system still that bad that we could actually put an innocent man down.

What system is perfect ? How niave are you ? and considering the case of Barry George et al - do you ever read newspapers ? Here's a site that tries to help innocent people in prison in the UK. Vietnam and Thailand are not generally known for having a better judicial system than the UK

I dont know the in's and out's of what that pervert did but i have always been of an opinion there is no smoke without fire. I have not heard him protesting his innocence anyway, has anyone else?

Yes, in nearly every report on the crimes he was sentenced for.

[stewart38]

What system is perfect ? How niave are you ?

Not that naive

Government PR stunt seems to have back fired

Gary Glitter demands round the clock protection - Telegraph

Remember he is back in UK now keep your windows locked

[Lee Bartholomew]

Any link to support this ???

no, the local observer the week after wrote an artical defending themselves and then removed all the articals from its website (not before sending the story to the Daily Star and the Sun who printed it in the fashion the local Observer did)

[Lee Bartholomew]

This is interesting BBC NEWS | Magazine | Whispering game

[Dreadful Scathe]

The following week after she made a complaint, they re-run the story with the links to these 'porn pictures'. Turns out it was a lingerie shot for a littlewoods catalogue !!!!!!!

Aah media spin. Got to love it. I liked the Daily Record one abut the Church Minister who "groomed a girl for sex" she was ...er...21, but he'd known her since she was 15. And of course the classic Princess Diana one in The Sun where she was cavorting in "bra and pants" with a current boyfriend, the only problem was that there WAS A PICTURE above the article which clearly showed her wearing cycling shorts and a gym top. (and of course an apology was written a few days later as it was someone else)...if the words are written to suggest you should be outraged then you should have the decency to BE outraged

Times they are a changing especially it seems to bring social, and legal, ideas on sex and nudity in line with Americas. There was a recent story about an Ambulance driver who got 4 months in prison for "possibly" taking a picture of an unconcious patient who was naked from the waist down - no proof was reported in any of the articles i read on this, only the accusation of a colleague - in the same newspaper someone reportedly got 4 months for serious GBH. Similar harm there?

If when the 16yr comes to maturity and say for example has a family of his own, a Child Protection Plan conference will be held and a plan will be formulated ...

Seems like a lot of red tape just because a 16 year old had sex with his girlfriend. You can get married without parental consent at 16, so it must be considered fairly mature. Never really thought about it before but I went on holiday to the US when I was 25 and my then girlfriend was 17, and as their idea of legal maturity differs, I could very well have ended up on some sort of sexual offenders register.

[Lee Bartholomew]

GG has arrived back in the UK now. I see he brought some duty free with him http://a118.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...c524c8bbb5.jpg

At least it's not all been bad news. Rebecca Adlington, Chris Hoy, Ben Ainslie: it's great to see all these Brits medalling at the Olympics.

Gary Glitter was dissapointed though that he got kicked out of Hong Kong before he, too, got the chance to do some medalling in China.


What? Too soon?

[David Bailey]

{ stuff }

Yep, I understand that there's a process, and that there are different levels of registration.

But I wonder if a future employer would be quite so understanding.

The young man in your example had committed a crime by having sex with a 15yr old and was found guilty by virtue of his sentance and name on the register, therefore to safeguard children he should not be exempt from the safeguarding policies that are in force to protect children.

Blimey, that's the caring compassionate society for you.

Note: I'm aware this is a hypothetical and extreme example. It's done to illustrate a point - that media hysteria in these cases can have serious and disproportionate consequences.

The obvious example of this is the Orkneys "satanic possession" child abuse scandal in 1991. I remember the media hype from that time, it was disgusting.

Let's keep things in perspective - in this case, one nasty old geezer's been let out of jail, and has returned home, where he will be monitored to ensure he presents no further threat to the community.

That's it.

No more news, move along please.

[David Bailey]

Any link to support this ???

Yes, I think we need to examine the evidence ourselves.

[stewart38]

no, the local observer the week after wrote an artical defending themselves and then removed all the articals from its website (not before sending the story to the Daily Star and the Sun who printed it in the fashion the local Observer did)

Wasnt really interested in the story, just the pictures

[Dreadful Scathe]

Wasnt really interested in the story, just the pictures

nice

[David Bailey]

Wasnt really interested in the story, just the pictures

Should I be worried that I understood your original post?

[cat]

The obvious example of this is the Orkneys "satanic possession" child abuse scandal in 1991. I remember the media hype from that time, it was disgusting.

Yes i remember that case, it was so sad. One of the families involved stayed with my family at the time. There children were taken away from them, they were hounded by the media but eventually cleared. Lovely couple, who i remember being very touched that my parents didnt judge them and welcomed them to stay with them and their children.

[bigdjiver]

My wife has just retired from teaching. One of the children that she had taught was designated not to be left alone with one adult because the child had a record of false allegations against adults, at school and at home, causing a great deal of distress. A very considerable amount of time had been taken up to ensure that the allegations were false. By the time the child had reached my wife's class it was also feigning siezures, once again causing a great deal of distress. My wife was labelled "heartless" because she was the first to catch on that most of the "seizures" were faked. Once the school got around to the cold "another seizure, no sympathy, send it to hospital for a check up" policy, only the very rare real ones happened.

There are cases of very young children inventing very serious allegations.

Without any knowledge of detail, I worry about parents that allow their children to play with strange men unsupervised, and then acquire lots of money when their children withdraw serious allegations, although I do worry more about the accused.

[cat]

It is quite possible to have smoke without fire for lots of reasons. Working in psychiatry we regularly got allegations of rape, which were based upon delusional beliefs. All cases were investigated to make sure it was delusional and not a real alligation. Unfortuantly for many reasons children and adults can make false claims which can be devastating for others involved.

[rubyred]

Seems like a lot of red tape just because a 16 year old had sex with his girlfriend.

Reality check.... it's not about just two consenting young people wanting to have sex together, what if the 15yr old has alleged she/he was raped or to preform things she/he didn't give her consent for, that's the difference. If all the 16yr olds having sex with consenting 15yr olds were prosecuted then there would be no time to do anything else. I have found that generally people approach this matter in a realistic and sensible way, of course there are always exceptions.

Yep, I understand that there's a process, and that there are different levels of registration.

But I wonder if a future employer would be quite so understanding.


Blimey, that's the caring compassionate society for you.

Note: I'm aware this is a hypothetical and extreme example. It's done to illustrate a point - that media hysteria in these cases can have serious and disproportionate consequences.

Yes and its a worse case scenario answer to your example. Workers in child protection are damned if they do and damned if they don't, but it should always be child centred first.