Verdict due in Adams abuse appeal
The sex abuser brother of Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams will today hear the outcome of an appeal against his convictions.
Court of Appeal judges in Belfast will deliver their reserved judgement in the case of Liam Adams.
The 59-year-old was found guilty of a string of attacks on his daughter Aine Dahlstrom when she was aged between four and nine during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
He was handed a 16-year sentence in 2013 but is seeking to have his convictions overturned.
Adams, formerly of Bernagh Drive in West Belfast, was convicted of 10 offences against Mrs Dahlstrom – three counts of rape, four of indecent assault and three of gross indecency.
The opportunist predator committed the crimes when he was left alone with his daughter, often sneaking into her room while she slept.
The abuse was committed over a five-year period between 1977 and 1981.
In later years he went on to work in a number of youth centres in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Mrs Dahlstrom, now in her early 40s, has waived her right to anonymity.
Northern Ireland’s Lord Chief Justice Declan Morgan and two other senior judges heard the appeal.
Liam Adams’ convictions heaped pressure on Gerry Adams to explain why he did not alert the authorities to the abuse allegations when he initially learned of them.
The Sinn Féin leader has insisted he acted properly and accused political rivals of exploiting a family issue to attack him.
