The defendant in a lesbian sex assault and the alleged victim were just "ace girls" and did not have sexual relations, Magistrates' Court heard yesterday.

The Devonshire woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies the charge, which allegedly occurred on October 9, 2002.

The 18-year-old woman gave evidence in her defence and claimed she had never met up with the 15-year-old victim, now 17, on the night of the incident, although she admitted to seeing her on the night in question.

Three of the defendant's friends, two of whom were also the victim's friends, all teenage girls, gave evidence that the defendant was somewhere else when the alleged sexual assault happened.

Crown counsel Oonagh Vaucrossen's case is that after the victim had ended the lesbian relationship with the defendant, she sexually assaulted her and held her against her will at the rear of City Hall.

Lawyer Craig Attridge claimed that the victim was not sexually assaulted, but instead was being pressured by her mother about being a lesbian.

The court heard that the victim's father he had seen his daughter being kissed by the defendant, early in 2002.

But the defendant claimed the first she heard that they had kissed was when she was told by her mother.

The defendant said that she and the defendant had stopped speaking after the alleged kissing incident and the victim, in the presence of her mother, would call her a b*** and a lesbian, but when they were alone would speak.

But Mrs. Vaucrossen reminded her of an incident in June, 2002 when the Police had come to the defendant's home and found the victim hiding in the bedroom closet.

Mrs. Vaucrossen suggested that she had lied to Police, but she said: "She (the victim) asked me to tell them that she wasn't there.

"She had come to tell me that she was sorry for calling me a b*** and a lesbian and said that it was her mom that made her say those things and that she really didn't mean it."

Mrs. Vaucrossen asked her, what did she mean when she said they were ace girls and the defendant said: "We were just friends."

"Did a relationship ever develop into a girlfriend-boyfriend sort of relationship?" asked Mrs. Vaucrossen.

The defendant said: "No. We were just friends."

"Was there ever some sexual activity?" asked the Crown counsel, and the defendant still said: "No."

The defendant claimed that on the night of the alleged assault, she and a male friend had gone to the last Harbour Nights of 2002.

The defendant added that when they were near Trimingham's, she ran into the victim and two other girls (identified for legal reasons as witness one and two).

The defendant said she lost her male friend in the crowd and ran into witness one, as she passed the old Ice Queen on Church Street.

The defendant asked witness one for the time and then went across the road, got on her bike and was headed for home, but later decided to go to Middle Town, where she ran into witness three, who was at her aunt's house sitting on the porch.

Witness one confirmed that she saw the defendant near Trimingham's and again near Ice Queen, and that she had asked for the time and she told her it was about 10 p.m.

Witness one said she had borrowed the victim's cell phone and that was how she was able to tell the defendant the time.

But in cross-examination, Mrs. Vaucrossen asked her to point out on the Police statement where she said she had borrowed the victim's cell phone, but witness one admitted it was not in the statement.

Witness two also said she had seen the defendant on Front Street and then again in Middle Town.

Witness three said the defendant arrived at he aunt's house at exactly 10.15 p.m. and when Mrs. Vaucrossen asked how she remembered, she said: "She (the defendant) asked her the time."

Witness three said they were joined by witnesses one and two and then the defendant gave her a lift home at midnight.

The case was adjourned until February 13 when the lawyers will offer closing arguments.