A former elder in a local Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation denies he sexually touched two young girls who were members of his church.
77-year old Claude Martin took the stand at his trial yesterday for charges related to the sexual assault and sexual interference of two girls between January 1988 and December 2002.
The girls were 10 and 11 years old at the time of the alleged incidents.
Ad: Vacation? City Trip? Weekend Break? Book Skip-the-line tickets
Martin says in one of the incidents he may have inadvertently made physical contact while transferring his briefcase from one hand to the other to remove literature to give to the homeowner.
The man’s lawyer urged the judge to find his client not guilty saying it wouldn’t be safe to convict Martin on the evidence of the two young girls.
The judgement will be handed down Tuesday.