A 34-year-old Pembroke man, accused of having a sexual relationship with his under-age niece, will today learn his fate.

A seven-man, five-woman jury will this morning decide whether the man had unlawful carnal knowledge of a young person on January 3, 1996.

The names of neither the defendant nor the complainant may be disclosed for legal reasons.

The man is also facing three counts of sexual exploitation of a young person.

Yesterday defence lawyer Archie Warner told the jury during closing arguments that they had a duty to assess the girl's evidence to decide if it was reliable.

During the week-long trial the court heard the 16-year-old alleged victim claim that she and the defendant had been engaged in a sexual relationship up until March 11, 1998 -- the night after the trial began. According to the girl the liaison began back in 1995 when he allegedly kissed her when she was only 13 years old.

Yesterday, Mr. Warner claimed that there were "serious'' inconsistencies in the girl's stories to the Police.

And he suggested that the girl told her stories "for a deliberate purpose''.

He also maintained that there was a "pattern of lies and deceit by this young girl''.

During the defendant's testimony he claimed that he was harassed by the girl and that she might have made the allegations of sexual assault because some of her family members disliked him.

But Crown counsel Patrick Doherty urged the jury to remember the details the girl gave about the accused.

"She described what the defendant looked like without his clothes on,'' Mr.

Doherty said. "She said it without hesitation. She was explicit.'' And he reminded the jury to keep in mind the girl's young age when considering her testimony.

"She may not realise the gravity of what happened to her,'' he said. "And her behaviour demonstrates that she was someone who could not handle it.'' He pointed out that a July 1996 medical examination of the girl supported her claim that she had sexual intercourse.

And he told the jury to remember the uncle's demeanour while he was testifying.

"The defendant didn't make eye contact when asked any sexual questions,'' he added.

During his summations, Chief Justice Austin Ward told the jury that the most important thing they had to do was to assess the credibility of the witnesses.

Mr. Justice Ward is expected to send the jury out to deliberate this morning.