Gary Glitter freed from prison after serving half of 16-year jail term

He was sentenced in 2015

Former pop star Gary Glitter has been freed from prison after serving half his 16-year jail term.

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was sentenced in 2015 for attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one of having sex with a girl under 13.

The 79-year-old has been freed after serving half of his 16-year sentence for sexually abusing three schoolgirls, the PA news agency understands. He reportedly left HMP The Verne - a low security category C jail in Portland, Dorset - on Friday after eight years behind bars. He will now be subject to licence conditions.

The judge said it was clear his victims "were all profoundly affected" by the abuse.

He had been one of the biggest music stars of the 1970s and had a string of chart hits.

At the height of his fame though, he attacked two girls, aged 12 and 13, after inviting them backstage to his dressing room, and isolating them from their mothers. His third victim was less than 10 years old when he crept into her bed and tried to rape her in 1975, Sky News reports. [caption id="attachment_376570" align="alignnone" width="1422"] Gary Glitter after his arrest in 2015 (Metropolitan Police)[/caption] Glitter was the first person to be arrested under Operation Yewtree, the investigation launched by the Metropolitan Police in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal. Sentencing the star, Judge Alistair McCreath said all the victims were "profoundly affected" by the abuse.