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	Priest to Take Stand at N.B. Sex Trial CBC News March 3, 2010 http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/03/03/nb-priest-indecent-assault-trial.html CANADA -- A priest accused of indecent assault involving a young boy in New Brunswick the 1970s will take the stand Wednesday during his trial in Campbellton. Charles Picot, who is in his 60s, worked as a priest throughout the northern part of the province until the 1990s. The charge stems from an incident that allegedly took place in Dalhousie in 1975, when the alleged victim, Michael Jensen, was 13. Jensen waived his right to have his name protected by a publication ban and took the stand on Tuesday. He said he was 13 years old when he met Picot, who was a priest at his church in Dalhousie. Jensen testified he was one of many young boys who spent a lot of time with Picot. They called him "Charlie" and visited him at the rectory several times a week, he said. Jensen told the court he thought of Picot as a friend and that he trusted him like he trusted his own father. But that trust was broken one night around Christmas in 1975, he said. They were watching TV together when Picot asked him to lie on top of him, Jensen said. Moments later, he said, he was trapped in Picot's firm embrace. Jensen said the priest violently grabbed his genitals before he struggled out of his grip. Jensen's brother, Robert Jensen, also testified Tuesday. He told the court his brother's demeanour changed almost overnight when he was about 13 years old. His grades dropped, his attitude soured, and he began using drugs and alcohol, he said. Picot, who left the diocese of Bathurst in 1993, is still a priest in Montreal, but he's not practising. He is facing another charge of indecent assault involving a teenage boy in 1978. He is scheduled to enter a plea on that charge in May. The trial before a judge alone is scheduled to conclude Wednesday afternoon.
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