Wilbur Dedam trial on 6 sex charges postponed until Monday

The trial ofWilbur Dedam,the formerEsgenopetitjFirst Nation chief, was supposed to hear new testimony from a third woman on Friday but it has been postponed because of a scheduling issue.

The trial will resume in Miramichi on Monday at 9:30 a.m.

Two other women have testified so far in the trial thatDedamsexually abused them when they were teenagers.

Dedam, 62, is on trial for six sex-related charges involving three alleged victims between 1977 and 1985.

On Thursday, a 49-year-old woman whose identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban, testified she was molested by Dedam when she was 13.

• Wilbur Dedam's trial on sex charges hears from 2nd alleged victim

"He was molesting me, that's what I call it," said the woman.

"I used to say 'bother,' but that's not what it was. That was rape."

Under cross-examination by defence lawyer T.J. Burke on Thursday, the woman denied making the accusation against Dedam in 2014 to try and prevent Dedam from becoming chief in the council election the following month.

"I went because we were all violated," she testified.

Burke did establish that the woman and Dedam had a business relationship in more recent years.

The Court of Queen's Bench trial is being presided over by Justice Tracey DeWare and being heard by a jury of six men and six women.