Court hears from 9-year-old girl who says she was sexually assaulted by Manitoba priest last year [Video]

WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it.

A now nine-year-old girl who says she was sexually assaulted by a priest last year in Little Grand Rapids First Nation told court on Tuesday she remembers feeling scared as the priest allegedly walked her to his bedroom inside the church that day.

The girl, who cannot be identified because of a publication ban, said that Arul Savari then took his clothes off. She said Savari, who she called “Father Arul,” told her he loved her, touched her legs and her “belly” and kissed her.

Savari, who sat behind a screen that prevented the girl from seeing him as she testified, pleaded not guilty to sexual assault, sexual interference and forcible confinement on the first day of his judge-alone trial before Court of King’s Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg.

Court heard both direct testimony …