Adams 'failed to take action against alleged abusers'
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams was under further pressure today after fresh claims he covered up sex abuse allegations against fellow republicans – one of them an elected member of his party.
Already facing tough questions over his handling of sex charges against his brother Liam, alleged victims of two other suspected abusers have accused the west Belfast MP of failing to act against them.
The two women say Mr Adams was made aware of their allegations but did not take action – either by alerting the authorities or expelling them from Sinn Féin.
Their explosive claims, which were outlined in the Sunday Tribune, come in the wake of the scandal involving Mr Adams’s brother Liam – who is on the run from police on charges of abusing his daughter.
One of the women, a grand niece of former IRA leader Joe Cahill, alleged she was repeatedly raped at the age of 16 by a prominent IRA member.
The other alleged victim claimed she was sexually abused as a child by someone who is now an elected Sinn Féin representative in the North.
A Sinn Féin spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Mr Cahill’s grand niece, who did not want to be named, said the IRA investigated her claims but just facilitated her alleged abuser in a move south of the border.
She said she met Mr Adams about the claims but described the exchanges as “pointless”.
After surviving a suicide attempt she said she confronted the Sinn Féin president.
“I told him I’d been treated disgracefully and never once had the republican movement told me to go to the police or social services,” she told the Tribune.
The other woman, who said police are investigating her claims, said she was disgusted that Sinn Féin had not taken action against her alleged perpetrator.
“When I went to the PSNI, another family member informed Gerry Adams face to face of what X had done to me,” she told the paper.
“Gerry said he was aware of the stories that X had abused me, but hadn’t known the details. Gerry promised to have X expelled from Sinn Féin immediately. I feel very let down by the republican movement.”
The allegations come just days after Mr Adams was confronted with more details about his brother Liam’s involvement in Sinn Féin.
His younger brother is wanted by the authorities north of the border to face charges of abusing his daughter Aine Tyrell in the 1970s and 80s.
The high profile republican has faced repeated queries about his handling of the allegations, which he became aware of in 1987, since Ms Tyrell went public last month.
In particular, he has been forced to defend claims he did not do enough to inform the authorities when he found out his estranged brother was working in youth groups in west Belfast and Co Louth over the last 15 years.
This week he was also forced to explain how he did not know his brother worked for Sinn Féin in the heart of his own parliamentary constituency.
Liam Adams chaired a local branch of Sinn Féin in west Belfast in 2000 – three years after his elder brother claimed he had him expelled from party ranks in Louth..
“I don’t know every member of the party in west Belfast,” Mr Adams insisted.
“I am also a very busy activist – a lot of this happened at a time of intense hyper-activity – but I didn’t know.”
In December Gerry Adams also revealed his late father Gerry Snr subjected family members to emotional, physical and sexual abuse over many years.
He said he discovered the allegations levelled against his brother in 1987 and had brought Liam’s daughter Aine, then aged 14, to confront her father.
He said statutory bodies including the police were told of the claims at that point.
Three years ago, after his niece went to police, Gerry Adams said he made a statement to the PSNI in support of her and against his brother.
Liam Adams gave himself up to gardaí in Co Sligo before Christmas. They could not detain him as they did not have the correct warrant.
Ian Paisley Jr has asked a Stormont Assembly committee to investigate if Gerry Adams breached its rules by failing to act about his brother’s alleged sex abuse.
The DUP Assembly member submitted questions to Assembly Ombudsman Tom Frawley. Mr Frawley will assess if the complaint merits being passed to the Assembly’s Committee on Standards and Privileges.
Mr Adams said his political opponents were using the issue in an attempt to undermine him.
He said he also felt constrained from fully defending himself by a need to protect the privacy of family members and by a desire not to prejudice any future court proceedings against his brother.
Later a Sinn Féin spokesman categorically denied the claims. He said the party was now considering legal action against the Sunday Tribune.
He said the allegations were founded on innuendo and sensationalism and not facts.
“Gerry Adams and the party refute absolutely any allegation of covering up instances of abuse,” he said.
“Our position on these matters is crystal clear. At all times the welfare of children is paramount. The people who should investigate allegations of abuse are the statutory authorities charged with this task – the PSNI/Gardaí and the Social Services.
“If an allegation of sexual abuse is made against a Sinn Féin member, the party ensures that the matter is reported to the relevant statutory authorities. The member is suspended from the party without prejudice.
“This is in contrast to other political parties which have allowed members against whom allegations are being made to remain politically active until the completion of the legal process.
“A Sinn Féin representative is suspended without prejudice from party membership and all party activities. including work as a public representative.
“This suspension was activated after the PSNI commenced an investigation into an allegation of historic abuse.
“It is not the job of Sinn Féin to establish guilt or innocence and we will await the outcome of the police investigation.”
