Warning: The following story contains graphic testimony of a sexual nature that could be upsetting to some readers.
An alleged victim of a former Saanich priest testified Tuesday that Phillip Jacobs molested him a number of times more than a decade ago, while attending St. Joseph the Worker Catholic School on Burnside Road West.
The young man, who canB次元官网网址檛 be identified, described to the court and Justice J. Miriam Gropper a number of incidents of sexual touching during his time as an altar server under direction of Jacobs, at the time the parish priest.
Led by the questioning of Crown prosecutor Clare Jennings on the second day of the trial, the witness said the pattern of touching by Jacobs escalated from a hand on the back, then to his buttocks and then to more direct molestation.
He went on to describe an incident where Jacobs took him to a secondary room attached to an anteroom behind the church altar, where altar servers prepare for ceremonies.
In the secondary room, the witness testified that Jacobs B次元官网网址渢ouched my genitalsB次元官网网址� with his hand, under the robe, and there was quick B次元官网网址渟kin to skinB次元官网网址� contact.
The witness described another time he volunteered to move bibles between the church and the elementary school during lunch hour.
In the room behind the altar, the witness said Jacobs again touched his genitals, and then made the witness put his hand on JacobsB次元官网网址� genitals B次元官网网址� again brief B次元官网网址渟kin to skinB次元官网网址� contact.
B次元官网网址淗e took my hand and pressed it into his pants,B次元官网网址� he told the court. B次元官网网址淗e used one hand to move my hand, and his other hand was around my neck.B次元官网网址�
The witness said he didnB次元官网网址檛 see a pattern to Jacobs behaviour and was unsure how many times the priest allegedly molested him, other than it was more than once and B次元官网网址渓ess than 12B次元官网网址� times.
Until eventually telling a girlfriend later in life and then the Saanich police, the witness said he hadnB次元官网网址檛 told anyone about the abuse.
B次元官网网址淚t was all very confusing and I was upset,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 was taught priests can be trusted and confided in and are good people. It was tough to understand.B次元官网网址�
Jacobs, 63, is charged with sexual assault, two counts of sexual interference of a person under 14 and touching a young person for a sexual purpose.
The charges involve three minors under the age of 14, with alleged incidents spanning September 1996 to June 2001, all within Saanich. Jacobs was arrested Aug. 4, 2010 and released on $25,000 bail.
In the second half of the day, JacobsB次元官网网址� lead defence attorney Chris Considine chipped away at the credibility of the witnessB次元官网网址檚 narrative of events, and honed in on the fact the witness was unable to recall a number of details about his time as an altar server.
The witness was unable to give a ballpark estimate of how many times he served as an altar server in St. Joseph the Worker church, although he suggested he did the job over three school years.
Considine asked why he didnB次元官网网址檛 stop being a server if he was being abused. B次元官网网址淚 was scared and confused,B次元官网网址� the witness said. B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 know what to do.B次元官网网址�
Holding up documents provided by the school, Considine suggested the witness acted as an altar server at the church over only two school years, that altar servers were chosen at random for services, and that the witness may have only served in the position a single time. The witness denied that.
The defence attorney told the court it wasnB次元官网网址檛 possible that the witness was in the presence of Jacobs all that often.
B次元官网网址淪o if you served during mass, (the number of times) must have been extremely few,B次元官网网址� Considine said. B次元官网网址淵our involvement on a physical level with Phillip Jacobs must have been not over two years, but maybe over a few months.B次元官网网址�
The witness agreed with Considine that the potential window for sexual touching was smaller than he had first asserted, and that the witness had told a police detective and a trauma counsellor details of the abuse that werenB次元官网网址檛 correct.
B次元官网网址淚 could have been confused,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淵ou donB次元官网网址檛 know how scared I was and confused.B次元官网网址�
Near to the end of questioning, Considine asserted, B次元官网网址測ou were never abused by Phillip Jacobs were you?B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淵es I was,B次元官网网址� the witness shot back.
The trial continues this week.
editor@saanichnews.com
