The trial of Liam Adams heard yesterday about statements he had made when interviewed by police over allegations that he had sexually abused his daughter. Evidence was also given about statements given by his brother, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams.
Defence barrister Joe Brolly put it to a detective at Belfast Crown Court that, when questioned in February 2007, 57-year-old Liam Adams,"emphatically" denied the allegations made by his daughter Áine.
Liam Adams is accused of raping and sexually assaulting his daughter when she was a youngster.
Explosive evidence
The detective, who helped interview him, also agreed with Mr Brolly that, while the Sinn Féin president might have had "potentially explosive" evidence concerning the case, "there wasn't a whisper" from him of a confession by Liam in Gerry Adams ' original statement of June 2007.
The former sergeant, now a detective inspector, further accepted that in his interviews Liam Adams had also “emphatically rejected” claims by his youngest daughter Sinéad that he had confessed to her, telling police: “I utterly refute that . . . I am not guilty of saying anything like that there to Sinéad”.
Liam Adams from Bernagh Drive in west Belfast faces 10 charges including three of rape, three of gross indecency and four of indecently assaulting Áine between March 1977 and March 1983.
The inspector told the court that if the Sinn Féin president had referred in his original statement to a confession by his younger brother Liam, either between 2001 and 2007, or during a stroll in the rain in Dundalk, in 2000, “I would have put it in the statement”.
Earlier the three interviews of Liam Adams, made after he went to the police by arrangement with his solicitor on February 15th, 2007, were read to the jury of six men and six women by way of a question and answer session with prosecutor David McDowell.
In the first of the interviews Adams described family life as “just getting on like a normal family”, although he admitted that within five or six years he’d separated from his wife and had left the family home.
When asked had he ever been aware of the allegations of sex abuse, he replied: “No”.
Adams also denied that anyone ever confronted him about the abuse claims: “No, the first time I heard was when my solicitor told me”.
Later, when asked again had “any member of your family ever spoken to you about these allegations”, he replied: “No”, and denied that his former wife or youngest daughter Sinéad had ever confronted him about the allegations.
The court heard that when asked could he think of any reason his daughter Áine should make such allegation, he told detectives: “I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t a clue why she, why she’s saying these things. Honestly, I don’t know why”.
As details of Áine’s abuse claims, made in December 2006 in a video-taped interview, in which she alleged her father told her to tell no one of their intimate touching, and that one day they would “run away to Kerry”, were put to him, Adams denied them, saying: “No that’s not true, honestly not true”.
When asked to comment about each claim, Adams said: "This did, total, totally didn't happen". During his second interview he denied more allegations in a similar manner.
Confrontation
In his final interview, made on the same day, detectives put it to him that his brother Gerry Adams, his daughter Áine and former wife confronted him in a house in Donegal.
“Did your brother Gerry ever confront you about this?” asked the police. “No,” came his reply, the court heard.
Adams denied any such confrontation, in spite of claims by his daughter Áine and former wife to the contrary.
He also denied allegations by his youngest daughter Sinéad that he had admitted to her that “yeah” he had abused her sister Áine, but those “demons” would have to be dealt with by them alone.
Later Adams went on to say: “I’m denying all of those allegations and I’m pleading not guilty”.