A PRIEST called a young alter server he is accused of sexually assaulting his “favourite” a trial heard today.

Neil McGarrity, 58, allegedly carried out the crime at a church in Glasgow and his parish house between December 2018 and February 2020.

The girl is said to have been aged between 10 and 11 at the time.

The alleged victim told a police officer that she was repeatedly hugged by McGarrity which made her “uncomfortable.”

She added that he called her his “favourite” and that she wasn’t to “tell anybody.”

The girl also recalled an occasion where McGarrity asked her to sit on a chair with him and put her head on his body as he stroked her arm.

McGarrity denies two charges of sexual assault against the girl at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

He also pleaded not guilty to a further two charges of sexual assault and engaging in sexual activity with other girls.

McGarrity, whose bail address was given as another church in the city’s Calton, lastly denies an eight and final charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.

The court heard from the girl, now 14, in recorded evidence to a police officer from June 2020.

She recalled the first occasion in which McGarrity hugged her outside the church.

The witness said: “It was uncomfortable, he kept hugging me and put his arm round me.”

Prosecutor Derek Buchanan asked how it made her feel.

She replied: “It felt really good - it was a friendly thing.”

Mr Buchanan asked: “Did he say anything?”

The witness said: “He kept saying you’re my favourite don’t tell anyone else. I think he tells that to everyone.”

The girl recalled a second occasion when McGarrity “cuddled” and shook her in an area for alter servers.

Mr Buchanan asked if she told anyone about it.

She replied: “No, my mum asked and said what’s happening with you and Father McGarrity and I said we are just friends - I was just uncomfortable and didn’t want to speak about it or anything and kept it bottled up inside.”

The witness added that she later asked her friend to do her alter server robe as she did not want McGarrity to touch her.

The girl then stated that her family and another family attended McGarrity’s home in 2020.

She said: “It got too big to handle - we went in the living room and said to come and sit on a spinning chair.

“He wanted me to put my head on him and he cuddled into me.

“I said I can’t do this and I need the toilet.”

The girl added that it lasted for a minute.

She claimed she believed McGarrity stroked her arm at the time and may have touched her on the leg but was unsure.

The girl stated that McGarrity continued to hug or give her a handshake.

The trial continues before Sheriff Vincent Lunny