Former England footballer Andy Carroll has publicly identified the man convicted of sexually assaulting him while he slept at his home.
Carroll, 37, has confirmed his attacker was Kevin Adams, a former dance coach on the BBC programme Fame Academy.
Adams was convicted at Chelmsford Crown Court in 2023 and jailed for 20 months.
Carroll had previously spoken about the sexual assault in his autobiography without publicly identifying Adams, saying only a small number of people close to him knew what had happened.
Carroll woke to find himself being sexually assaulted
The former Newcastle United, Liverpool and West Ham striker said the incident happened in 2019 after he returned home following a Newcastle match and went to bed early.
Carroll described waking to find Adams attempting to perform a sexual act on him beneath the bedsheets.
He ordered Adams to leave his home and, when he did not, Carroll struck him before contacting police.
Carroll later gave evidence during Adams’s trial, describing the experience of going through the court process as “humiliating and horrendous”.
Adams denied the allegation and presented a different account of events, but was convicted.
As well as receiving a 20-month prison sentence, Adams was placed on the sex offenders register and prohibited from entering Carroll’s village.
‘I can finally start to put this chapter behind me’
Carroll has now confirmed Adams’s identity after learning that his name was already contained in publicly available court documents.
He said: “Now that Kevin Adams has been named in court documents as my abuser, I can confirm it.
“Hopefully now I can finally start to put this chapter behind me.”
Carroll has asked people not to repeatedly share photographs of Adams alongside images of him when discussing the case.
“I don’t want to keep seeing his face or being reminded of him every time this story is spoken about,” he said.
“I’m ready to move forward. This had a devastating impact on my life and loved ones.”
