Gary Glitter appeals sex abuse conviction

VUNG TAU, Vietnam, March 16 (UPI) -- British glam rocker Gary Glitter is appealing his conviction and 3-year prison sentence for child sexual abuse in Vietnam, his attorney says.

Glitter, 61, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was convicted of committing lewd acts with 11- and 12-year-old girls March 3 in Vung Tau, Vietnam, where he had been living for several months. Glitter proclaimed his innocence and said he was merely teaching English to the girls.

"He told me he was innocent so he has to appeal to clear this matter," his attorney Le Thanh Kinh told Sky News.

Glitter signed an appeal petition Wednesday, which is being sent to court officials in Ho Chi Minh City, the attorney said.

Glitter was convicted of child pornography charges in Britain in 1999 and was later permanently expelled from Cambodia.