A man accused of sexually assaulting a young girl took to the stand yesterday to proclaim his innocence.

The 46-year-old accused, from Paget, has denied four counts of sexual exploiting the schoolgirl, who is under the age of 13, and one count of sexually assaulting the same girl.

The charges state that all of the alleged offences took place between September 2012 and March 2013.

Neither the accused nor the complainant can be identified for legal reasons.

Earlier in the trial, the schoolgirl told the jury that the defendant had repeatedly had sex with her for months.

She said that on one occasion, he struck her on the forehead with a stick to quiet her in the middle of the act, causing swelling.

She said she kept the incidents a secret because she was afraid she would get in trouble, but eventually told her younger brother and then her mother.

A family friend, meanwhile, said the girl’s mother was hesitant to contact Police about the allegations because she was afraid of the impact it might have on the child.

As the trial continued yesterday in the Supreme Court, the accused took the stand, telling the court he had never sexually touched the girl.

He said he first heard about the allegations from the girl’s mother. Asked what his reaction was, he told the court: “I said I didn’t know what she was talking about and hung up the phone.”

Prosecutors suggested that the mother was angry during the call, even threatening to kill him, but he said she was calm during the brief conversation.

He told the court he heard nothing more about the allegations until February last year, when he went overseas for a period. While he was away, he said the family friend told him not to come back until the girl had “turned 18”, but he chose to return to the Island in part because he wanted to clear his name.

Asked by defence lawyer Leonard Holder if he had ever seen the girl with a bump on her forehead, he said he had, adding: “She said she slid down a step.”

He was also questioned about an incident last summer in which the girl said he had spoken to her while she was on the way to school.

He told the court that on that particular morning, he had been woken up by friends and had spent several hours drinking with them in his shed until about 10am.

“I was there with them. I stayed there,” he said. “I didn’t see her that morning. I didn’t leave my house that morning.”

He said the girl had lied in the past to avoid trouble, but claimed he had no idea why she would make such allegations against him.

“I believe that someone put her up to it,” he said, but added that he did not know who would do such a thing.

Under cross examination, he denied the suggestion that he returned to the Island only after he was assured by the family friend that the girl’s mother was not pressing charges, saying: “I came back to clear my name.”

Challenged about the alleged incidents, the defendant repeatedly said that the events described by the girl never happened.

Mr Holder said that on the basis of the allegations, only the accused and the girl knew what had actually happened. He called his client an innocent man being tried for an offence he did not commit.

“The prosecution’s haste for judgment is really why we are here,” he said.

The trial continues today.

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