Fr Jeremiah McGrath, the Parish Priest of Roslea took the stand on Monday this week during his trial at Liverpool Crown Court to deny the allegations against him.
McGrath told a jury he had been unaware his co-accused William Adams was sexually molesting and raping the 12-year-old.
But, he did confess he had had a close relationship with Adams and was emotionally involved with him. "I was probably looking for a special relationship but it did not materialise," he said.
Asked by his barrister, Trevor Parry-Jones, if there was any form of physical or sexual relationship with 38-year-old Adams, the accused replied that in 1989 "there was a little. Billy wasn't interested.
"I would have loved him. I don't think he loved me. I think he was using me."
EXPLICIT
Liverpool Crown Court has heard police discovered sexually explicit text messages between the two men and, when interviewed by police, McGrath admitted that if pressed about his sexual preferences, it would be adult males.
McGrath denies three charges of facilitating the commission of a sexual offence by Adams and one charge of sexually assaulting the girl himself.
Further questioned, McGrath said until he had heard Adams plead guilty to raping the child he had had "very strong feelings" for him. "I was very hurt, shattered, devastated. I felt I had been betrayed.
"I have spent all my life in the protection of the young and the old and this was someone who had been very close to me and he betrayed me," he said.
"Did you in any way touch the girl inappropriately in a sexual manner?" asked Mr Parry-Jones. "No, I never did," replied McGrath.
"Did you ever see William Adams do that to her?" asked Mr Parry-Jones. "No," he replied.
He said if he had been aware what Adams was doing, he would not have tolerated it and would have contacted social services and police. He denied facilitating or arranging in any way for Adams to abuse the girl. He explained they had a joint bank account because of their interest in gambling.
McGrath said he had been interested in gambling since the age of five and, although horse racing was his main interest, "basically I would gamble on anything."
PSYCHIATRIC HELP
He told the Court , while he was in Blackpool on two holidays in the summer of 2005 with Adams and the girl and her family, he and Adams went to the betting shop each day and put their winnings in the bank account and financed further bets from it.
The court has heard £23,500 went into the account and all but £2,000 was spent. The prosecution claim McGrath put the cash in and that, in order to please, gave it to Adams who used it to groom the girl.
McGrath said Adams had "outrageous anger" and they had rows on holiday.
He agreed he had visited Adams while Adams was serving 12 years in Ireland for raping an eight-year-old girl and had repeatedly urged him to get psychiatric help.
He denied on November 9, 2005 he told the girl's grandmother it was untrue Adams had served that sentence and that it had only been a ten month term. The court has heard the offences, which spanned seven months, came to light later that month.
