David Andrew Adams, center, was taken into custody Wednesday following a plea hearing in Wood County Circuit Court where he entered into an Alford plea where he will accept the punishment of sexually abusing five underaged girls, but will not acknowledge his guilt in the matter. He was conferring with his attorney William Merriman while being handcuffed. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — A former YMCA swim coach will accept punishment for sexually abusing five underaged girls, but will not acknowledge his guilt in the matter, much to the disappointment of the girls’ parents.

David Andrew Adams, 38, of Parkersburg, could face 5-25 years in prison after entering into an Alford plea Wednesday before Wood County Circuit Judge Jason Wharton on five counts of sexual abuse in the first degree where he didn’t admit guilt to the crimes, but acknowledges the court had enough evidence to be able to convict him of the charges.

As a result, he will accept the punishment of 1-5 years in prison and pay $10,000 in restitution for each count and register as a sex offender for life upon his release. It was agreed the sentences would run consecutively.

The trial was originally scheduled to begin Monday before a plea deal had been reached.

During the hearing details were given of Adams touching the girls in a sexual manner under the guise of coaching them and helping them with their swimming skills as part of the Parkersburg Sharks team at the YMCA.

During the almost two-hour hearing, both sides discussed the 11-page plea deal.

When given the chance to speak during the hearing, the parents of the victims spoke out about their opposition to the plea deal with many expressing disappointment at this outcome, expressing worry that Adams would be able to abuse others at some point in the future and urging Wharton not to accept the plea deal as presented with many saying they wanted Adams to either admit guilt or be found guilty during a trial.

The children in question were between 9 and 12 years old when the abuse happened.

Diana Wilson, one of the parents, said all the girls have been vocal that they wanted a finding of guilt.

“It would be a verdict our daughters could take with them to show that the system of justice works and provides some kind of compensation for doing the right thing by speaking up and their abuser would be found guilty,” she said.

Others expressed disappointment in the system, the YMCA leadership and others for failing to protect their daughters who are left to carry on under a sense of doubt, fear and silence while they feel Adams is not truly being held accountable for his actions.

Special Prosecutor David Wayne Hancock of Jackson County acknowledged the opposition to the plea deal, but maintains the deal is in the best interest of justice. He talked about how Adams was indicted on 27 counts connected to 11 distinct acts.

Each count Adams is accepting punishment for impacts one of the five female victims, he said.

“These are still young girls, from middle school to high school range,” Hancock said. “Entering into this plea agreement saves those girls from having to go on the witness stand.

“The state wholeheartedly believes the story of these juvenile victims. The state believes it is furthering the interest of justice by not subjecting them not only to a public trial and testifying about what happened and sparing them from subjecting them to cross examination given the severity and the serious nature of what happened.”

Hancock also talked about how a couple of the victims’ stories had changed over time where one girl changed the number of occurrences from two instances to one and another victim who increased the number of allegations from one to four occurrences. There was a video dealing with a third victim that could confirm time and place where they were, but nothing Adams did could be clearly seen.

The state believes the victims but it could cause credibility issues for a jury that could foment reasonable doubt, Hancock said.

He said he discussed a number of options regarding a plea, but ultimately went with the Alford plea and gave the victims what he believed they wanted in terms of a punishment for Adams.

However, Wharton explained every trial presents risks to both sides. There were a number of pre-trial hearings where Wharton listened to the testimony of one of the victims and determined certain evidence would be admitted. He acknowledged how difficult it was for the victim and their family in the court.

There were aspects of the case that have the possibility of being overturned on appeal if reviewed by a higher court, based on other cases even though Wharton said he felt his rulings were proper. Those could lead a case to have to be retried again.

“A guilty plea or an Alford plea provides finality,” he said. “(This plea) permits (the victims) to not be subjected to testifying and reliving the trauma they were exposed to.

“I think that is a very compelling issue.”

With the prison sentence, Adams will be punished with jail time, he will have controls in place once he is released, including registering as a sex offender for life which would prevent him from being employed in jobs like coaching and more. He would be subject to polygraph tests and other controls. The victims can submit impact statements in the future at any parole hearing.

“The court does believe the plea would be in the best interest of the public,” Wharton said.

Sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Feb. 27.

After the hearing, Wilson said she felt “defeated.”

“I feel like justice has not been served for these young girls who were brave enough to stand up and tell their truths and what their abuser had done to them,” she said. “So many people don’t tell their stories because this is usually the outcome.

“The abusers are protected more so than the victims are ever protected in these situations.”

Wilson and many of the other parents feel Adams will eventually be able to walk around and deny he did the crime and claim he was backed into a corner and since he was facing a long incarceration time took this plea deal.

She acknowledged the court’s desire to save the girls the stress of having to go through a trial and again recount their stories and what happened to them.

Wilson said the girls have had to appear in court before at different points and tell their stories about what happened to them.

“They are now a few years older than when they were abused,” she said. “I feel like they have a maturity in their lives where they would be able to handle this.”

Wilson said all of the girls were given the choice to accept this plea or go to court.

“All five of them said ‘We don’t want him to walk away saying he did not do this,'” she said.

All of them would have accepted him making a guilty plea, even if it meant him serving less time in jail. They just wanted him to take that responsibility or have the court rule that he was responsible.

“I am really proud of these girls for what they did,” Wilson said. “I hope any future victims will be able to have a voice and not let this deter them from doing what is right and turning in their abusers.”

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com