FILE - In this Jan, 11, 2000 file photo, British performer Gary Glitter, during a press conference in London. Police investigating the sex abuse scandal surrounding late BBC children's television host Jimmy Savile have arrested pop star Gary Glitter in connection with the case, British media said Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012. Metropolitan Police said they arrested a man in his 60s early Sunday morning at his London home, on suspicion of sexual offenses, and that he remains in custody in a London police station. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - In this Jan, 11, 2000 file photo, British performer Gary Glitter, during a press conference in London. Police investigating the sex abuse scandal surrounding late BBC children's television host Jimmy Savile have arrested pop star Gary Glitter in connection with the case, British media said Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012. Metropolitan Police said they arrested a man in his 60s early Sunday morning at his London home, on suspicion of sexual offenses, and that he remains in custody in a London police station. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - In this March 3, 2006 file photo, former British rocker Gary Glitter smiles at journalists prior to his verdict and sentencing at Ba Ria-Vung, Vung Tau province People's Court in Vietnam. Police investigating a sex abuse scandal surrounding late BBC television host Jimmy Savile have arrested pop star Gary Glitter in connection to the case, British media said Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012. Metropolitan Police said they arrested a man in his 60s early Sunday morning at his London home, on suspicion of sexual offenses. The force did not identify the man, but British media including the BBC and Press Association reported he was Glitter, 68, a former rock musician and a convicted sex offender. Glitter's real name is Paul Gadd. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
Cameras are seen above a sign at the BBC Television Centre, in London Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. The BBC is facing questions over sexual abuse allegations against former television presenter Jimmy Savile. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
FILE - This is a March 25, 2008 file photo of Sir Jimmy Savile, who for decades was a fixture on British television. A year after he died, aged 84 and honored as Sir Jimmy, several women have come forward to claim he was also a sexual predator and serial abuser of underage girls. The child abuse scandal that has enveloped the BBC, one of Britain's most respected news organizations, is now hitting one of America's, as the incoming president of The New York Times is on the defensive about his final days as head of the BBC. Mark Thompson was in charge of the BBC in late 2011 when the broadcaster shelved what would have been a bombshell investigation alleging that the late Savile was a serial sex offender. (AP Photo/ Lewis Whyld/PA, File)
LONDON (AP) ? The sex abuse scandal surrounding the late BBC children's television host Jimmy Savile widened on Sunday as police arrested former glam rock star and convicted sex offender Gary Glitter in connection with the case, British media said.
Police would not directly identify the suspect arrested Sunday, but media including the BBC and Press Association reported he was the 68-year-old Glitter.
The musician made it big with the crowd-pleasing hit "Rock & Roll (Part 2)," a mostly instrumental anthem that has been a staple at American sporting events thanks to its catchy "hey" chorus. But he fell into disgrace after being convicted on child abuse charges in Britain and Vietnam.
On Sunday, the BBC and Sky News showed footage of Glitter, who wore a hat, a dark coat and sunglasses, being taken from his home by officers and driven away.
British police do not generally identify suspects under arrest by name until they are charged. When asked about Glitter, a spokesman said only that the force arrested a man in his 60s early Sunday morning in London on suspicion of sexual offenses in connection with the Savile probe. He remains in custody in a London police station, police said.
Hundreds of potential victims have come forward since police began their investigation into sex abuse allegations against Savile, the longtime host of popular shows "Top of the Pops" and "Jim'll Fix It" who died at age 84 last year. Most allege abuse by Savile, but some said they were abused by Savile and others.
Glitter is the first suspect to be arrested in the scandal, which has raised questions about whether the BBC turned a blind eye to the alleged sexual crimes. It was not immediately clear if Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, and Savile knew each other.
Glitter rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of U.K. hits and his look of shiny jumpsuits, silver platform shoes and bouffant wigs, but his music has often been shunned since his abuse convictions. In 2006, the NFL advised its football teams not to use the Glitter version of "Rock and Roll (Part 2)" at games.
Glitter was jailed in Britain in 1999 for possessing child pornography, and convicted in 2006 in Vietnam of committing "obscene acts with children" ? offenses involving girls aged 10 and 11. He was deported back to Britain in 2008.
Police have said that though the majority of cases it is investigating related to Savile alone, some involved the entertainer and other, unidentified suspects. In addition, some potential victims who reported abuse by Savile also told police about separate allegations against unidentified men that did not involve the BBC host.
The scandal has horrified Britain with revelations that Savile cajoled and coerced vulnerable teens into having sex with him in his car, in his camper van, and even in dingy dressing rooms on BBC premises.
One witness told the BBC that she once saw Glitter having sex with a schoolgirl in Savile's dressing room at the broadcaster's TV center in the 1970s. Glitter has denied the allegations.
On Sunday, the chairman of the BBC Trust said he was committed to finding out the true scale of the scandal to save the broadcaster's reputation.
"Can it really be the case that no one knew what he was doing? Did some turn a blind eye to criminality? Did some prefer not to follow up their suspicions because of this criminal's popularity and place in the schedules?" Chris Patten wrote in The Mail on Sunday.
The BBC has set up an independent inquiry into the corporation's culture and practices in the years Savile worked there. It also launched a separate inquiry into whether its journalists dropped an investigation into the allegations.
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