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	McGrath 'Lied' to Victim's Family The Fermanagh Herald [United Kingdom] May 23, 2007 http://www.nwipp-newspapers.com/fh/free/310759800039623.php Fr Jeremiah McGrath lied when confronted by the grandmother of the young girl he is accused of molesting, Liverpool Crown Court heard on the second day of the trial of the Roslea Priest. And when quizzed about his paedophile friend, McGrath also told her not to believe anyone, 'particularly the police. Sixty-two-year-old McGrath denies one offence of sexual assault and three offences of arranging or facilitating the commission by his co-accused, William Adams of a sexual offence. The court heard the offences, which spanned seven months, came to light after the girl failed to arrive as expected at her grandmother's Merseyside home on November 9, 2005. Her family, who had been alerted by social services about Adams' past, had warned Adams not to see the child. But, unknown to them, McGrath had collected her by car from her friend's home and drove her to Bootle where they met Adams. Adams took over the driving and McGrath sat in the front seat. En route, it is alleged, Adams put his hand up her skirt and touched her genital area before taking her back to her friend's home. The girl told the court the car was not moving at the time and McGrath 'must have known' what was going on. OBSESSED The girl's grandmother told the jury when the girl did not arrive and she found she was not with her mother, she suspected she was with Adams in Blackpool, as she had been there with him before. She said that she had met Adams, with whom her grand-daughter was 'obsessed', and McGrath on earlier occasions when they came to her home. 'Gerry (McGrath) said, 'I'm his uncle',' she said. She told the Court the family had learnt about Adams' conviction from social services the previous month and that, when the girl did not come home, her mum rang the police. After phone calls and text messages to Adams, he sent a text message saying he had not seen her at all that day. Her grand-daughter rang and claimed she was at a friend's home and came back about 11.30 pm. Before she arrived, her grandmother said she had made contact with McGrath, who told her, "I have not seen her all day". The grand-mother told the priest they knew about Adams' conviction and accused him of telling lies by claiming to be his uncle. She said her cousin had found out on the internet about Adams being jailed in Ireland for child abuse. "His reaction", she told the Court, "was, 'don't believe anything anybody tells you, especially the police, because it is all lies". The court had previously heard McGrath allegedly gave Adams, thousands of pounds to lavish on the girl, including three holidays in Blackpool. A total of ?23,500 was deposited by McGrath in Adams' own bank account and their joint bank account and all but ?2,000 was spent. ADDICTED Cross-examined by McGrath's barrister, Trevor Parry-Jones the girl agreed with his suggestion McGrath was 'essentially addicted to gambling.' The girl, who is now 13, said McGrath, who Adams incorrectly described as 'my uncle', always had a newspaper with him about horse racing. "He was obsessed with that, wasn't he?" asked Mr Parry-Jones. "Yes," the girl replied. She told the Court her holiday was spoilt after McGrath turned up as he and Adams spent their time talking about horses and going to the betting shop and how she and her brother used to tag along. The two men, she said, sometimes argued and got upset when they lost a lot of money. She told the Court McGrath again joined them in a later two week holiday in Blackpool and the two men again spent their time in betting shops. Further questioned, she agreed that she had had 'a bit of a crush' on Adams. The court has heard he was jailed for 12 years in 1998 for raping an eight-year-old girl and served six years. After his release, he moved to Bootle, Merseyside and got to know the girl and her family.
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