A pastor accused of sexually assaulting a member of his congregation took the stand in his own defence yesterday, claiming he had, "no idea'' why a woman to whom he had given counselling and financial assistance, would accuse him of improper behaviour.

The pastor is charged with sexual assault following an alleged incident at the complainant's Pembroke apartment on September 20 of last year.

For legal reasons the pastor and complainant cannot be named.

According to testimony before Acting Magistrate Michael Smith, the woman in question had been seeing her pastor for marriage counselling and had also received gift certificates to a local grocery store from her church to help out with household bills.

The woman said that on the day in question, her pastor came to her residence to deliver grocery vouchers. Under questioning from the woman's lawyer Saul Froomkin, she told the court how she let the man in and invited him to take a seat while she finished a phone conversation she was having in another room.

According to the woman, when she returned, the defendant was sitting on a chair with his trousers and belt undone, his erect penis was exposed and he had an envelope, which she took to contain her grocery vouchers, in one of his hands.

She told the court that, despite his not saying anything, she formed the impression that she was expected to have oral sex with her pastor in exchange for the vouchers.

The complainant then claimed to have said: "You've got to leave. Put yourself together and go.'' Later, when she asked the man if he knew he could get into trouble, he is reported by the complainant to have relied: "I'm a well respected minister...because you are a nobody, nobody will believe you.'' According to the woman, the man also grabbed her by the breasts before leaving the apartment. She said he gave her an envelope before leaving, which contained grocery vouchers and an airline ticket to Philadelphia.

She went on to tell the court that later she decided to call her pastor and tell him she would go to Philadelphia with him -- although she did not plan to do so.

She said she intended to tape her conversation with the man on their drive to the airport, to see if he would admit to the incident she alleges to have taken place in her apartment.

The woman said she taped a conversation between the two in which she asked him what his wife would think of him going away for three days to have sex with another woman. According to the complainant the man responded: "What of it?'' During cross examination, defence lawyer Marc Telemaque established that the woman had four prior convictions for fraud in the 1980's, and last year had faced similar accusations.

"And you expect to be believed today?'' he asked her.

"Yes. I did something wrong years ago and paid the price,'' she said, "and he has to be accountable for his wrong actions.'' After an unsuccessful bid to have the case dismissed, Mr. Telemaque called his client to the stand. The defendant said that on the day in question he had dropped off an envelope of grocery vouchers and left the woman's apartment a few minutes later. He told the court he had bought the complainant a ticket to Philadelphia because he was trying to help her get a job.