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	Priest 'Paid for Girl's Grooming' BBC News [United Kingdom] May 15, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6657715.stm A Catholic priest gave thousands of pounds to a friend to help him groom a young girl for sex, a court heard. Father Jeremiah McGrath allegedly gave the money to William Adams, 38, who used it to buy gifts for an 11-year-old girl he had befriended in Liverpool. The 62-year-old is accused of three counts of facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and one count of sexual assault. He denies the charges. McGrath, of Rosslea, County Fermanagh, is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court. Andrew Menary QC, prosecuting, said the Northern Irish priest knew Adams had a previous conviction for the rape of an eight-year-old girl, and often visited him in jail. The prosecution's allegation is that most, if not all of the money, came from this defendant Andrew Menary QC He told the jury that Father McGrath also knew about Adams' friendship with the Liverpool girl. The treats lavished on the girl included a three-week holiday in Blackpool with Adams. Adams did not appear to have a job or any income apart from his state benefits, but managed to fund gifts for the girl, Mr Menary said. "The prosecution's allegation is that most, if not all of the money, came from this defendant, Jeremiah McGrath," he added. "We say that because of his very close relationship with William Adams, he regularly sent Adams significant amounts of money or paid directly for certain aspects of his lifestyle. "The existence of this money plainly enabled William Adams to provide these treats for the girl and her family and that Jeremiah McGrath knew, or at the very least believed, that Adams was sexually abusing the girl." The trial of Father McGrath continues.
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