Brother to be tried on sex abuse charges

A retired Catholic brother will face trial next month on charges he sexually abused a boy in the late 1970s.

John Louis Stevenson, 66, is facing five charges of indecently assaulting a boy aged between 12 and 16. Stevenson's lawyer, Mike Antunovic, conceded in the Wellington District Court there was a case to answer.

Asked by justices of the peace if he wished to plead guilty, Stevenson said, "No".