Rape suspect stayed in parish priest’s house

A PARISH priest in Co Fermanagh was suspended from pastoral duties after it was discovered that a man, suspected of child abduction and three counts of rape in Liverpool, stayed at the priests’ parochial house.

Last night, the priest was questioned by detectives on Merseyside.

Earlier, the Bishop of Clogher Dr Joseph Duffy confirmed that Roslea-based Fr Jeremiah McGrath was suspended from pastoral duties until further notice.

The bishop’s statement revealed that Fr Mc Grath had “travelled to Liverpool to assist police with a serious crime investigation.”

“No further comment can be made on this matter until the police investigation into this matter is completed,” the statement said.

The 63-year-old priest, believed to be a native of Co Kerry, returned to the Fermanagh border parish last weekend after an extended visit to the US.

He is believed to be assisting police after a Co Antrim man, William Henry Adams, 38, appeared in court in Liverpool last week charged with abducting and raping a girl, under 16 years, in Liverpool and Lancashire earlier this year.

It is believed that Adams had stayed at the priest’s house in Roslea on a number of occasions last year.