An 19-year-old woman says the head of an obscure Christian church in Montreal had sex with her when she was a prepubescent girl, and told her they'd be married one day.

The woman, who can't be identified, told a Quebec court she was nine years old when pastor Daniel Cormier started touching her, and had intercourse with her before she started menstruating.

He also told her they would be man and wife one day, she told the court.

Cormier, 57, is accused of sexual assault, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, and sexual exploitation of two girls, including the 19-year-old.

Acting as his own lawyer, Cormier has built his defence on his alleged marriage to the woman, arguing he cannot be convicted of any wrongdoing because she is his wife.

The woman told the court she never really believed she was married to Cormier, and never had an engagement party, wedding reception, guests or ceremony. When shown a document produced by Cormier entitled "marriage certificate," she said she had never seen it before.

Cormier produced the paper earlier in the trial as proof of their marriage. The certificate indicates he married her at his now-defunct Church of Downtown Montreal on her 10th birthday.

The woman testified she was with Cormier in Granby, Que., on her 10th birthday, where Cormier took her to the zoo, and rented a hotel room with one bed for the two of them.

Never thought he was serious

But she never thought he was serious about getting married, and thought of him as a friend, who bought her clothes and gave her money, she said.

She testified she spent every weekend at Cormier's house from the age of 8 to 13. The alleged crimes took place between 1994 and 2002.

Cormier met the woman and her family in downtown Montreal when he was doing outreach work with homeless people. He became friends with the mother, who was strapped financially and involved in prostitution and drugs.

Her children were placed in foster care, but Cormier helped her regain custody while helping pay her bills.

He was arrested in 2003, when authorities received complaints about the woman's situation. The start of his trial was delayed until October 2007 because of procedural wranglings.

Cormier says he founded the Church of Downtown Montreal in 1994. In 2001, he ran for Montreal mayor under the banner of the Parti de la sagesse, or the wisdom party.