Former N.B. priest found guilty of sex assault

A former Catholic priest in northern New Brunswick has been found guilty of a sex-related offence against a teenaged boy.

Charles Jean Picot, who is in his 60s, was charged with indecent assault stemming from an incident at his residence sometime between January of 1978 and December of 1979.

Picot left the diocese of Bathurst in 1993. He is not a practising priest.

He was found not guilty last year on another charge of an assault from Dalhousie in 1975, when the alleged victim was 13.

In 1993, he served seven months in jail for two counts of sexual assault and one of indecent assault.

Judge Ronald LeBlanc delivered the decision Thursday morning in Campbellton.

LeBlanc said in court there were issues with facts and dates during the testimony of the victim, Derek Lapointe, who was 13 at the time of the incident.

Lapointe, 46, waived his right in January to have his name protected by a publication ban.

Despite the mix-ups with the victim's memory, LeBlanc said he still found the testimony to be honest and commended the victim for not embellishing or amplifying that testimony.

LeBlanc said he found Picot's testimony indecisive, uncertain and imprecise, and for that reason he found Picot guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Picot's lawyer, Gilles Lemieux, said he wasn't sure if an appeal would be filed, but would make that decision on July 22, when Picot will be back in court for sentencing.