Former England striker Andy Carroll has publicly identified Kevin Adams, a television dance coach once seen on the BBC series Fame Academy, as the man who sexually assaulted him in 2021.
The 37-year-old, who announced his retirement from professional football earlier this year, first disclosed the attack in his recently published autobiography, Owning It. At the time, the book did not identify his assailant, but Carroll has now named Adams in comments reported by the Sun, saying he made the decision after learning that his attacker's identity was already accessible through publicly available court documents.
According to information understood by the BBC, Adams was convicted of the assault following a trial held in September 2023. He was sentenced two months later, in November of that year, at Chelmsford Crown Court, where he received a 20-month custodial sentence.
Carroll has described the circumstances of the attack, saying he was asleep in his own home when the assault took place. He explained that the perpetrator was an acquaintance of his then-partner who had come over to watch a boxing match. Carroll said he woke up during the assault, forced the man out of the house, and rendered him unconscious when the attacker attempted to re-enter the property. At the time of the incident, Carroll was playing for Newcastle United, the club he supported as a boy and where he began his professional career.
In his memoir, Carroll reflected on the difficult decision of whether to include the experience in his book at all. He admitted to delaying contact with his publisher out of hesitation, writing that he had