AUBURN – A brother and nephew of fatal shooting victim Roland “Jerry” Poirier told reporters Wednesday they should have been able to testify about their alleged sexual abuse by Poirier at the murder trial of his son, Scott.

About a dozen family members gathered on the steps of Androscoggin County Superior Courthouse to show their support for the 35-year-old Sabattus man following the afternoon recess of day five of his trial.

Maurice “Moe” Poirier of Lewiston said he was 6 years old when his brother started molesting him. He never went public with his story, he said.

“It started way back, way before Scott,” Poirier said. “Scott’s telling the truth. I’m tired of lies.”

Maurice Poirier said he was prepared to tell what happened to him in court Wednesday, but a judge ruled first thing in the morning that none of Roland Poirier’s alleged sexual abuse victims would be allowed to testify at Scott Poirier’s trial.

That news disappointed Gerard Galipeau Jr., Roland Poirier’s nephew. Galipeau of Wales said he was 8 years old when his uncle started abusing him. It happened three or four times, he said.

At 16, Galipeau said he pulled a gun when Roland Poirier made his final sexual advance.

“‘There’s no ifs ands or buts,’ I says, ‘You’re never touching me ever again. It’s not gonna happen again,'” he said he told Poirier. “And it didn’t.”

If Scott Poirier hadn’t killed his father, he would have molested more boys, Maurice Poirier said. “The era has ended, and I’m glad it has ended because I think it would have continued, and there was no stopping,” he said.

Galipeau said his cousin has suffered enough.

“I’ve been in prison all my life right here,” he said, pointing to his head, “just like Scotty is. It’s not right. It’s not right at all.”

Steven Peterson, Poirier’s attorney, said the testimony of other sexual abuse victims was relevant to the case to show the culture of sexual abuse in the Poirier household and should be allowed.

Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese disagreed, noting the defendant wasn’t aware of the abuse suffered by others and, therefore, it couldn’t have affected his state of mind at the time he fatally shot his father. His experience of abuse wasn’t necessarily the same as theirs, she said.

Justice Joyce Wheeler agreed with Marchese. But she allowed a psychology expert called Wednesday by the defense to use information gleaned from Roland Poirier’s alleged victims in reaching his conclusions about Scott Poirier’s likely state of mind by drawing parallels from their stories.

That expert, forensic psychologist Charles Robinson, testified for most of the afternoon.

Robinson said he met with Poirier several times and reviewed the evidence before drafting his 24-page report.

Poirier’s experience as a victim of incest by his father is rare, Robinson said. Shooting one’s father also is a rare occurrence, usually performed by people who are psychotic, according to his experience.

“There were many abnormal aspects to his case,” Robinson said.

Poirier repressed the memory of his abuse, but it would surface when he drank excessively, Robinson said. Poirier was suicidal leading up to the shooting. “He was becoming more and more desperate. He had given up. His situation was helpless and hopeless,” Robinson said.

As a suicidal person, he wished to kill someone, Robinson said. Poirier could have planned to kill himself in front of parents or planned to kill his father, then himself.

Marchese pressed him on cross-examination about Poirier’s goal-oriented behavior.

“Can a person have an abnormal condition of mind and appear to be goal-oriented? Absolutely,” Robinson answered.

Shortly after the state rested its case first thing Wednesday, Peterson argued the judge should drop the charge against his client.

Although the defense conceded that Poirier shot his father and his father is dead, the state hadn’t met its burden in proving that Poirier knowingly or intentionally caused the death, Peterson said.

Given his history of substance and alcohol abuse, depression, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts, police should have asked Poirier whether he intended to kill his father when he stood outside his parents’ Lewiston home on the rainy night of Nov. 8, 2006, and pulled the trigger of the hunting rifle, Peterson said.

It was the elder Poirier’s 65th birthday party, celebrated with his family.

But Justice Joyce Wheeler said the facts presented by the state supported the charge. In an interview with police, Poirier said he shot his father in the throat. An autopsy confirmed that he did that, Wheeler said in denying the motion for acquittal.

Peterson said he expects to turn over the case to the jury no later than this afternoon.