A teenage girl told Magistrates’ Court this week how a man she trusted covered her with a jacket and sexually touched her while her family stood by, unaware.

The accused, a 30-year-old man, has denied two counts of sexually exploiting a girl under the age of 14 in January, 2011. Neither he, nor the victim, can be identified for legal reasons.

Taking the stand this week, the now 16-year-old victim told the court that the incident act happened at a party at a family member’s home when she was 12, although she could not recall the exact date.

She told the court that she was playing on a Wii computer console with other children in the living room when the defendant began to give people massages while sitting on the couch.

The victim said she receive a shoulder massage, and then went to the kitchen for a drink.

When she returned, she said she sat on the couch alongside the defendant and two other people.

Minutes later those two people stood up, leaving just her and the defendant.

At that time, she said the other children were still playing with the Wii, while her mother and two other adults were talking in the far corner of the room.

She told the court the defendant tapped her on the shoulder and gestured for her to move closer.

When she did, he produced a black jacket from the back of the couch and put it on her, covering her from below her neck to her thighs.

She said he then reached under the jacket and beneath her clothes, rubbing her chest for around two minutes before moving his hand beneath her leggings.

He then asked her to open her legs, but she didn’t comply.

“I was scared. I didn’t know what to do,” she said, “I was afraid. I was in shock and once he touched me it felt like I was paralysed, like I couldn’t move or anything.”

She said the touching made her feel uncomfortable, saying that she thought she could trust the defendant until the incident happened.

The incident stopped when her brother told her that the family was leaving, and she jumped up to run to the car.

When they arrived home, she said her mother followed her to her room, where she told her what the defendant had done to her.

Under cross examination by defence lawyer Elizabeth Christopher, the victim denied the suggestion that her family didn’t approve of the defendant, or that she had hoped the defendant would be deported because of the allegations.

Ms Christopher also put it to the victim that the version of events she gave the court was different from that given to police two days after the incident, stating that while she told the court she was laying down when the defendant covered her with a jacket, she told police she was sitting.

The victim said she knew that what she had told the court was the truth, strongly denying the suggestion that she had changed her version of events because the original story wasn’t believable.

“I know what happened,” she said. “I know of how much this man has cost me for so long.

“This man has cost me to lose so many friends, and if I was telling lies about how this happened, why would I be here today? Why would I be crying in so much pain and anger?”

Asked why she didn’t tell the defendant to stop or call out for help, the victim explained that she was afraid and in shock.

Ms Christopher suggested that the defendant never touched her in a sexual manner, saying: “The most that happened was at one point you laid your head in his lap and he patted your head.”

The victim replied: “False.”