Gary Glitter child rape charge dropped

Vietnamese police are to drop a charge of child rape against Gary Glitter because of "lack of evidence", his lawyer has said.
Glitter, 61 will still be formally charged with committing lewd acts with children, Le Thanh Kinh said.

Glitter, faces up to 12 years in jail if found guilty. The fallen star, real name Paul Gadd, is being held in Vietnam under suspicion of committing lewd acts with children. He denies allegations that he molested girls as young as 12 at his home in the resort of Vung Tau, where he has lived for the last six months.

"The [child rape] investigation has ended and the charge will still be the initial one, while additional issues were not raised by investigators, probably because of a lack of evidence," Glitter's lawyer said

Earlier this month, news agency AFP said Glitter had admitted to police in Vietnam that a girl, 11, had spent the night with him but he denied all abuse.

An announcement will be made by prosecutors about whether Glitter will be tried on the charge of committing lewd acts with children reports BBC

Glitter, jailed for four months in the UK in 1999 for possessing child pornography, could have faced the death penalty if he had been convicted on the charge of having sex with a girl under the age of 13.