Patrick "PJ" Allain testified this morning that he and George M. Leniart sexually assaulted April Dawn Pennington on May 29, 1996, and that he knew Leniart wanted to kill the 15-year-old girl.The state is hoping Allain's testimony will help convince a jury that Leniart kidnapped, raped and sexually assaulted the Montville teen, who was never seen again after the night she disappeared.

With April sitting in the cab of Leniart's pickup truck, Allain, who was also 15 at the time, said the three of them had been drinking beer and smoking marijuana and that Leniart, who was 30 years old, was kind of "giggly."

"He said he wanted to, to do her," Allain testified. "He said, 'We need a body.' He said he was in a cult and that he wanted a body for an altar."

Allain, now 29, is serving a 10-year prison sentence for an unrelated sexual assault. He was on the witness stand for about two hours this morning at the capital felony trial of Leniart. He admitted he is hoping for leniency from the state when he began testifying.

The state is hoping Allain's testimony will help convince a jury that Leniart kidnapped, raped and sexually assaulted the Montville teen, who was never seen again after the night she disappeared.He said he and Leniart picked her up in Leniart's pickup truck and they drove to a spot off Route 12 in Ledyard. Allain said he pretended to go along with Leniart because he was afraid Leniart would kill him or April. He said he walked back to the pickup truck and told April they both wanted to have sex with her.

With more spectators in the courtroom than usual, Allain described how April sneaked out of her home on Orchard Drive in Uncasville. He said April had sneaked out to be with him before and that they had a sexual relationship that was not romantic.

He said he and Leniart picked her up in Leniart's pickup truck and they drove to a spot off Route 12 in Ledyard. Allain said he pretended to go along with Leniart because he was afraid Leniart would kill him or April. He said he walked back to the pickup truck and told April they both wanted to have sex with her.

"She said, 'Only you,' '' Allain testified. "She was crying. I said, 'He's going to rape you. We're going to rape you, basically'."

Allain said he whispered to April to "just do it," and that she was quiet and calm. He said he had sex with her first while Leniart watched. Leniart then had sex with April while Allain sat in the driver's seat of the truck.

"I didn't really want to look at her," Allain said. "I put my hand on her breast and just held her, just to let her know I was there."

The three of them sat in the truck together afterwards, drinking beer until Allain said they had to get home because it was a school night. He said Leniart dropped him off at his house on Route 32 first. He said he ran home and thought of calling police, because he thought Leniart might hurt April. He did not call.

"I wasn't sure what to say," he said. "I wasn't sure if he was going to hurt her."

The next morning, he was awakened by the phone, Allain testified. April's mother was on the line and she sounded worried.

"I was shocked," he said. "I knew something bad had happened."

Leniart called him later that day and said he had dragged April into the woods and "choked" her, Allain testified. Later that day, Leniart picked up Allain and they went to the same spot in Ledyard to drink and smoke pot, he said.

"He asked me if I ever heard of the movie, Eraser," Allain testified. "He said, she's been erased. He said he had put her in a lobster trap. He had dropped her in the mud."

Allain was still on the witness stand when the trial broke for lunch. Defense attorney Noman A. Pattis, noting Allain had given police several differing accounts of the incident, asked him if his memory of the events were "hazy." .Allain admitted that he had been taking a lot of drugs at the time but said he remembers these events clearly.