Liam Adams to be sentenced for abuse of daughter

The paedophile brother of Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams will be jailed today after being convicted of raping his daughter.

Liam Adams, 58, from west Belfast, was found guilty last month of sexually assaulting Aine Dahlstrom in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He will be sentenced at Belfast Crown Court.

The majority jury verdict heaped pressure upon his high-profile older brother to explain why he did not alert the authorities to the abuse allegations when he first learned of them.

During a first trial earlier this year, which collapsed, the Sinn Féin leader claimed he first heard of the sex abuse claims in 1987 and, 13 years later, his younger brother admitted his guilt to him.

The TD faced criticism for not informing police at the time of the revelations, his statements to detectives were made in 2007 and 2009.

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers recommended the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) take no case against the Sinn Féin veteran.

The North’s police ombudsman is investigating whether detectives properly examined if Gerry Adams covered up the crimes and the PSNI has pledged to review the case. Attorney general John Larkin is examining the role of prosecutors.

Gerry Adams insisted he has committed no offence and accused political rivals of exploiting a family issue to attack him.

Liam Adams, from Bernagh Drive, was found guilty of 10 offences against his daughter. The abuse was committed over a six-year period between 1977 and 1983, when she was aged between four and nine.

At a previous pre-sentence hearing, the prosecution urged Judge Corinne Philpott to send him to jail for at least 15 years.

Ms Dahlstorm has waived her right to anonymity.