Andy Carroll was sexually abused by TV personality: 'The trauma is still always there'

Andy Carroll revealed last week, when his biography was published, that he was sexually abused by a man in 2021. British media investigated and discovered that it was Kevin Adams, a well-known media figure and coach on talent shows on the BBC. Carroll has now confirmed to The Sun that Adams is the man who sexually abused him.

In his biography Owning It: In My Own Words Carroll says a 'family friend', Adams in this case, regularly came round to the house. Adams was an acquaintance of Carroll's ex and got to know the current Dagenham & Redbridge FC striker that way.

Now 37, Carroll says the abuse happened in 2021 after a match for Newcastle United. Adams invited himself to Carroll's house to watch a boxing match. "But he started mixing drinks in the kitchen, and after a while I began to feel light-headed," Carroll says.

"I think he had put something in my drink. 'Time for bed,' I said. 'I'll order you a taxi.' But he insisted on staying overnight in the guest room."

Carroll says he had always had a strange feeling about Adams. "He was divorced with children, but I still had the feeling that he felt more for me than just platonic feelings. He was constantly asking my ex and me to go out with him. He even bought clothes for me."

"I sleep naked, and when I woke up in the night that bloke was under my sheets trying to give me a blowjob," Carroll says. The former Liverpool striker then knocked Adams unconscious, called the police and went to the station to give his account.

"The whole process was humiliating and embarrassing. Truly awful." Adams denied everything. "The whole process lasted two years. Apart from my then partner and her family, nobody knew about it, and I got very little support," Carroll said.

In November 2023, Adams was convicted of sexual abuse, received a 20-month prison sentence and was given a restraining order. "When I heard the news from the police, I couldn't stop crying. It had a huge impact on my life."

"I thought about it every day, which meant I could hardly focus on anything else. Not even football. The trauma is still there. But if by writing this I can help even one person, then it is worth it," Carroll said.