Trial begins for clergyman's child bride

MONTREAL, April 22 (UPI) -- A sexual exploitation trial of a self-proclaimed clergyman in Montreal heard testimony that he declared an impoverished 11-year-old girl his wife.

Daniel Cormier, 57, is representing himself in the trial that began Monday, The Gazette newspaper said Tuesday. Prosecutors questioned social worker Barbara Bass about what was learned when the girl's live-in relationship with Cormier was discovered in 2002 when the girl was 13.

"When she was 9, they spent weekends at his house and they shared a bed," she said, adding the pair had sex when the girl was 11.

In pre-trial filings, Cormier said it isn't a crime to have sex with one's wife, the report said.

Bass testified Cormier had helped the girl's mother pay bills and offered to take her daughter out of foster care, where she wasn't adapting. She said the girl's mother was a drug addict and prostitute, and accepted Cormier's help.

She said once family services stepped in and put the girl into a regular school and relocated the family, there was a marked improvement.

The trial continued Tuesday.