A 20-year-old mother told a Supreme Court jury she knew the man who sexually assaulted her in his north Hamilton apartment in March of 1999.

Tears welling in her face, the woman said she waited under an avocado pear tree in Middletown for more than two hours from shortly before 6 p.m. for the father of her child to arrive to give her bus fare.

The nine-woman, three-man jury watched as she said her alleged attacker, a 28-year-old Jamaican national, told her he had fare at his apartment a short distance away.

The woman took the stand late yesterday afternoon and she will continue with her evidence this morning.

Yesterday also saw a site visit to the apartment, which featured the jury, Puisne Justice Vincent Meerabux and his court staff, Crown counsel Juan Wolffe and the man's lawyer, Sonia Grant being driven by Police in several vehicles.

The man denies sexually assaulting the woman and for legal reasons neither he nor the complainant can be named.

In his opening statement, Mr. Wolffe said when the woman arrived at the house, the defendant invited her inside, and she entered the bedroom.

He approached her from behind and tried to kiss her. When she resisted, the man then pushed her onto the bed and sexually assaulted her.

The woman reported the incident to Hamilton Police station on March 11.

Speaking in a soft voice, she told the court that she was joined by a friend while she waited for about two hours. Meanwhile the defendant had arrived in a minibus.

Her friend asked the man for $5 which led the complainant to ask him for bus fare, telling him: "You might as well give me some money too.'' He told her he only had paper money, but that he could get change from his home.

"He told me he would walk ahead of me and that he would leave the door open for me at his house,'' she explained.

She admitted she had known him for about one year and added: "I knew where the house was because I had been there on numerous occasions.'' Police officers took her to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where bruises were found on her thighs and in her vagina. Articles of clothing were seized as evidence.

The defendant was arrested two days later on suspicion of sexual assault.

Ms Grant requested that a site visit be granted when discrepancies arose over the location of the bedroom in relation to the entrance of the house.

The bedroom was said to be at the end of a hallway.

Det. Con. Paul Henry who searched the house after the incident, told the court that the bedroom was 40 to 50 feet from the entrance to the door.

But Ms Grant asked: "At the time you took the picture you did not physically measure the corridor?'' Det. Con. Henry replied, "no I did not'' which prompted Ms Grant to request the site visit so that the jury could see for themselves.

The trial continues this morning.