touching his step-daughter's private parts.

And Magistrate Edward King ordered a pre-sentencing evaluation by a prison psychologist after lawyer Keren Lomas argued for the report.

The man was found guilty on the alternate charge of touching the now ten-year-old girl with his genitalia while in a position of trust between 21 January 1995 and 30 September 1996.

He was also found guilty of another alternate charge of inciting the girl to touch his penis while in a position of trust. He was cleared of the original charge of sexual assault.

Mr. King remanded the man -- who cannot be named for legal reasons -- into custody after a lengthy argument with Ms Lomas.

Ms Lomas had urged Mr. King to delay sentencing to hear the report, saying: "Sexual offences come within a special bracket.'' "Your worship, I urge you, I encourage you to take the expert advice at the Co-ed facility. We don't lose anything by having this assessment.'' But Mr. King replied that Government brought the expert into the Island to work with convicted sex-offenders, " not with me''.

He added: "I shall not go that course. You're not going to sway me. If a higher court says to do it then I will.'' But Mr. King later relented and ordered the man to be returned to court for sentencing on October 16.

Mr. King said although the girl admitted she had come to dislike the man because of constant arguments with her mother, she understood what she faced if she accused him.

"The girl struck me as truthful,'' he added.

And while it was not unusual that a child would not remember exact dates, he said the girl could remember details about the man's underwear.

He added: "The graphic details leave no doubt the defendant rubbed his penis against the child. I have no reason not to believe the child.'' "One would expect him to say the allegations were concocted,'' Mr. King continued as the man lowered his head into his hands. "He never did. He never said she made it up, but that he had nothing to do with it.'' The girl testified that the man had sexually assaulted her on four occasions while her mother was at work.

She said on the first occasion she was lying on her mother's bed when the man came in wearing boxer shorts.

The man told her to give him her hand and then placed his penis in her hand.

She told the court: "I held his penis and then he urinated in my hand. After that he told me to wash my hand and he just went and watched television.'' The girl said that on other occasions the man rubbed his penis against her vagina.

The man told the court: "As far as I'm concerned, it's lies, because it wasn't me. I noticed the child's attitude toward me slowly changed and at the time I left it was really bad.''