CBC News
January 26, 2011
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/01/26/nb-charles-picot-trial-431.html
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| Former priest Charles Picot is facing a charge of indecent assault in a Campbellton court. |
The trial of former priest Charles Picot has been adjourned until next month so a judge can consider a Crown request to alter the dates of an alleged assault.
Picot is facing one charge of indecent assault against a minor.
During his testimony in a Campbellton courtroom, Derek Lapointe, 46, the alleged victim, said Picot committed the indecent act in the fall of 1978 in the northern New Brunswick town of Dalhousie.
That prompted the lawyer for the defence to say Picot had an alibi and he was studying at the University of Ottawa at the time. Lapointe was 13 years old and in Grade 9 when the alleged assault happened.
The judge refused a request by the Crown prosecutor to bring Lapointe back to correct his mistake.
Lapointe said he wanted to change his testimony to say the facts occurred in 1977 instead of 1978.
Later when Picot testified, he denied ever committing an indecent act against Lapointe.
However, he admitted knowing Lapointe and that it was possible that he had spent time alone with him while he was the priest in charge of activities for young people in Dalhouse from 1977 to the summer of 1978.
The Crown then asked the judge to change the dates on the original charge from sometime in 1978 to including both 1977 and 1978.
The defence objected saying it was too late for the Crown prosecutor to make that change and the Crown and the police should have done their homework ahead of time instead of waiting for the defence to point out the holes in the case.
The judge will hand down his decision on the motion on February 8.
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