Disgraced former British glam rocker Gary Glitter, 78, was released from a prison in England on Friday after serving half of his 16-year sentence for sexual offenses involving three teenage girls.

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was set free from the prison on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, the BBC and other British media reported.

In 2015, he had been sentenced to 16 years for attempted rape, unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and four counts of indecent assault. The judge said back then that his victims “were all profoundly affected” by the abuse.

Glitter was arrested in October 2012 as part of Operation Yewtree, a national investigation launched in the wake of a child-abuse scandal surrounding late BBC entertainer Jimmy Savile.

He was automatically freed halfway through his term, the BBC reported under the headline “Pedophile pop star Gary Glitter freed from prison.” “As a sex offender, he will now be subject to license conditions,” the report emphasized. Licence conditions are a set of rules individuals must follow if they are released from prison, but still have a part of their sentence to serve in the community.

Glitter, one of the biggest music stars in Britain in the 1970s, is known for his hit “Rock & Roll (Part 2).” He previously spent two months in a British jail for possession of child pornography after a 1999 conviction. He also was sent to prison in Vietnam in 2006 during his time in the country for molesting two girls aged 11 and 12, according to the BBC.