Rocker faces child obscenity charges

Former British rocker Gary Glitter was formally charged Friday on suspicion of committing obscene acts with two girls ages 10 and 11 at a Vietnamese resort town, prosecutors said.

Glitter, 61, who won fame as a flamboyant glam rocker in the 1970s, is accused of kissing and engaging in other physical acts with the girls at his rental home in the southern coastal town of Vung Tau, prosecutor Nguyen Van Xung said.

The charges carry prison terms of three to seven years.

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, originally faced possible child rape charges that carry the death penalty, but prosecutors did not find enough evidence, Xung said.

He has been detained since Nov. 19, after he was seized in Ho Chi Minh City trying to board a flight out of the country. Glitter is perhaps best known for his song “Rock and Roll (Part 2),” often played at sporting events.