Double Olympic gold medallist Myriam Bédard told a jury yesterday that she wasn't hiding in the United States with her daughter last fall.

But she admitted, half-heartedly, that she never personally told her former husband that she and the 11-year-old were leaving the country. She is on trial for violating a custody agreement.

Crown prosecutor Josée Lemieux asked Bédard repeatedly if she had notified Jean Paquet, her ex-husband, that they were going to the U.S. Bédard said the girl called her father a day or two before they left, but no one answered.

Lemieux went on to ask, "Did you try calling again to leave a message on his voice mail ? Did you do something else to get hold of Mr. Paquet ?" Bédard finally conceded : "No," she had not.

She also said they left without knowing precisely when they would return.

Bédard, along with her common-law spouse, Nima Mazhari, and her daughter, left for the U.S. last Oct. 2 to protest against what they called "bureaucratic terrorism" by Canadian authorities.

She had testified during the Gomery commission into the sponsorship scandal and said the government was hassling her and Mazhari because of that.

Bédard said she didn't understand why she was charged, since they were "really easy to find" - always within 45 minutes of downtown Washington, D.C., even though they changed hotels 42 times during their three-month trip.

Closing arguments are set for Tuesday.

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