Accuser says he’s skeptical about test

He says he wants the case to conclude.

By PETER H. MILLIKEN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — The young man who alleges Darryl Adams sexually abused him says he isn’t confident that justice will be served by the lie-detector test Adams will take Thursday.

“It’s easy to pass one of those,” the 19-year-old accuser said in an interview. “Those polygraph things aren’t accurate because, if a person believes his lie, then how is the polygraph going to tell? If that person is really in self-denial about that lie, how is that polygraph going to pick it up?” the young man said.

Adams, 44, former youth pastor at the church the boy attended, is charged with three counts of rape in alleged encounters with the young man between 2002 and 2004. Each count carries a penalty of three to 10 years in prison.

“I wouldn’t know how to feel” if Adams passes the polygraph and the charges against him are dropped under terms of the agreement between the prosecution and defense, the teen said. “I just want it to be over,” he said of the case.

The 19-year-old said he learned about the polygraph arrangement for Adams by reading a Vindicator article and that he believes Dawn Krueger, the assistant county prosecutor assigned to the Adams case, should have consulted him about the polygraph agreement. But she didn’t, he said.

“I’ve consulted with him about a lot of things. We talked about a lot of options,” Krueger said, adding she believes she discussed with the accuser the possibility of Adams’ taking a polygraph.

“There was talk about [Adams] doing a polygraph for a long time, so we’ve just been in negotiations and trying to get everyone on the same schedule,” Krueger said.

Long ordeal

The teenager said the case has been a long ordeal for him, and he has been frustrated by the delays in the investigation and court proceedings in the case.

“It should have been over. This happened three years ago,” he said.

The young man said he would willingly testify at a trial.

A journal entry in the case by Judge James C. Evans, of common pleas court, after an Oct. 16, 2006, pretrial hearing said the parties will enter into a polygraph agreement and that the judge granted a joint motion to postpone the trial for 60 days.

Court records show five other postponements in the case for various reasons.

The accuser said he wants to devote attention to his newborn daughter and is considering entering a trade school to begin his studies for a career in construction and demolition.

When asked how the Adams case has affected his life, the 19-year-old said, “I really don’t want to talk about that because it’s just crazy.”