Canada - Ex-priest's trial begins today

The court case for Philip Jacobs, charged with sexual offences involving children while serving as a Catholic priest in Victoria, begins today in B.C. Supreme Court with a voir dire.

A voir dire, frequently described as "a trial within a trial," is held to determine the admissibility of certain evidence during a trial. The voir dire in the Jacobs case is expected to last up to four days, after which Justice Miriam Gropper will rule on how the trial will proceed.

Defence counsel Chris Considine and Crown attorney Clare Jennings spent the first part of this week discussing procedural matters with Gropper.

Jacobs, a tall, balding man in his early 60s, sat through the proceedings Wednesday. The charges he is facing come from his time as parish priest at St. Joseph the Worker Cat



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