1970s Glam Rock Star Released Early from Prison After Serving Half His Sentence

Former glam pop star Gary Glitter was released early from prison on Friday after serving half of a 16-year sentence for sexually abusing three young girls in the 1970s, the Associated Press reported.

The singer, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was released from a prison in Dorset, England, and will serve the remainder of his sentence on probation.

"Sex offenders like Paul Gadd are closely monitored by the police and Probation Service and face some of the strictest license conditions, including being fitted with a GPS tag," the Ministry of Justice said in a statement obtained by the AP. "If the offender breaches these conditions at any point, they can go back behind bars."

Gadd, 79, was convicted for one count of attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 12, The New York Times reported.

Gadd was an international pop star in the 1970s when he attacked two girls, then 12 and 13 years-old, in his dressing room after isolating them from their mothers, The Guardian reports. In 1975, he attempted to rape his third victim after crawling into her bed.

The allegations were made 40 years later when Gadd became the first person to be arrested under Operation Yewtree, an investigation launched by the Metropolitan police.

Richard Scorer, a lawyer representing one of the victims, said Gadd "has never admitted his offenses, has never apologized and has never shown any remorse," The Guardian reported.

"I've spoken to my client today and like every victim of serious sexual assault facing early release of her abuser, today is an incredibly difficult day for her. The abuse, including repeated rapes which our client suffered from the age of 12, have left her with a life sentence," said Scorer.

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"Our client feels this was not the justice she was promised and the early release devalues her suffering and that of his other victims."

Gadd, who's best known for his song "Rock 'n' Roll Pt. 2" which was featured in the movie Joker, and often played at sporting events, has a history of sexually abusing minors.

He has not owned the rights to his songs since 1997, PEOPLE reported in 2019. A representative for Snapper Music, which is based in England, told PEOPLE in a statement that "he is not entitled to, nor have we paid any royalties" to Gadd.

In the late 1990s, he served two months in jail after admitting to possessing 4,000 images of child pornography. In 2006, he was sentenced to three years in prison in Vietnam for molesting two underage girls, The New York Times reported.