The trial of a former pastor of the Free Will Baptist Church in Plaster Rock, N.B., charged with sexually touching minors began Tuesday in Woodstock.

Frederick Douglas Hanson, 61, is charged with three counts of sexually touching a person under the age of 14 and one count of sexually touching the body of a person under the age of 14 while in a position of trust.

The charges refer to incidents that are alleged to have taken place in the period from May 1, 2006, to Dec. 31, 2007.

The first of three complainants took the stand Tuesday.

The girl, whose identity is protected by court order, testified that she had a good relationship with Hanson and often talked to him when she was having family problems.

She told the Court of Queen's Bench that the troubles with Hanson began when he put his hand on her leg in his car and later at the church.

"I said, 'You can't do that; you have a wife.' And he said, 'What she don't know won't hurt her'," the girl testified.

The witness recounted various alleged incidents, including one in which Hanson removed her top and commented on her breasts and another when he kissed her in the church basement.

She also testified that Hanson "put his hand down the top of my skirt, into my underwear."

The complainant said she didn't tell anyone because she was too scared and didn't think she would be believed.

The alleged incidents only came out after she told a friend.

Court was abruptly adjourned before her testimony was finished, but a court order bars the publication of any details of the reason for the adjournment.

Crown attorney Pierre Roussel and Hanson's lawyer, Robert Digdon, will spend Wednesday morning making further submissions to Justice Terrence Morrison before the jury returns in the afternoon.

Hanson resigned as pastor of the Plaster Rock Free Will Baptist Church in February 2008 after the RCMP investigation was made public.

Plaster Rock is about 100 kilometres southeast of Edmundston.