Priest guilty of funding grooming

Father Jeremiah McGrath was told he faced a jail term

A Catholic priest who gave thousands of pounds to a friend to help him groom a young girl for sex, has been convicted of facilitating a child sex offence.

Father Jeremiah McGrath, 63, gave more than £20,000 to convicted child rapist William Adams, who spent the cash on a 12-year-old girl from Liverpool.

McGrath, from Northern Ireland, was found guilty by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court.

He was in remanded into custody and will be sentenced on 14 June.

The jury found him guilty of one count of facilitating the abuse from August to November 2005 but failed to reach a verdict on whether he did so from May to August 2005.

We co-operated fully with the police investigation of this matter Joseph Duffy, Bishop of Clogher

He was cleared of facilitating the abuse on a specified occasion, and the jury failed to reach a verdict on the indecent assault charge.

McGrath, of Rosslea, County Fermanagh, had denied all of the charges.

The prosecution requested time to decide whether to pursue the two charges on which the jury was hung.

McGrath will be sentenced alongside 38-year-old Adams - originally from the Belfast area but latterly of Bootle, Merseyside - who has admitted raping the girl repeatedly over a six-month period in 2005.

Gambling cash

Judge Brian Lewis told the court: "There can only be one outcome, in terms of sentence."

The priest, who wore his dog collar throughout the trial, insisted he had no idea that Adams was abusing the girl and claimed the cash transfers were linked to his gambling habit.

Speaking after the hearing, Joseph Duffy, Bishop of Clogher, said: "This was a very sad and tragic case and our thoughts and prayers are with the child involved and with her family.

"As soon as the allegations came to light, Father McGrath was suspended from ministry, placed on administrative leave and was required to vacate the parochial house.

"We co-operated fully with the police investigation of this matter. Father McGrath's future as a priest will now be considered."