Acting Magistrate Justin Williams will decide on Monday whether there is a case to answer in the trial of a man accused of sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl.

Emotions ran high in Magistrates' Court this week as defence attorney Elizabeth Christopher made her submissions to have the case dismissed.

The 31-year-old non-Bermudian man is charged with sexual exploitation of a girl who was known to him through his wife.

On Wednesday both parents of the girl -- who is now seven -- left the court room in distress as defence lawyer Elizabeth Christopher and Crown counsel Juan Wolffe continued their legal arguments.

The girl's father left the court appearing angry, after a bailiff cautioned the parents who were becoming vocal in the public gallery in relation to statements made by Ms Christopher.

A few minutes later, the girl's mother followed her husband out of the courtroom in tears.

The young girl was called to the stand for a second time on Tuesday, but only after lengthy legal arguments between Ms Christopher and Crown counsel Juan Wolffe.

Ms Christopher pointed to a number of inconsistencies between the girl's testimony and a taped interview made by Police and claimed that these supported her contention that her client had no case to answer.

She also argued that the girl's testimony was unsworn and uncorroborated.

Mr. Wolffe argued however, that corroboration was not required in cases of sexual assault.

He made a lengthy speech on the evolution of the treatment of sexual offences, based on the work of the 1987 Women's Advisory Committee.

Mr. Wolffe argued that the spirit of the law had changed because it had previously been offensive to women and that spirit should also be respected for child victims.

"If not, the result is that in circumstances when a child of tender years has been assaulted sexually by someone five months ago, and then after five months makes a complaint, because of the lapse of this five months there is no physical evidence. No one else has seen (the alleged incident). There may or may not have been behavioural changes in the child. (And so) there is no corroboration in those circumstances -- tough,'' he said. "That can't be right.'' However, Acting Magistrate Justin Williams suggested that a more recent amendment to the Evidence Act, over-rode the amendment to the Criminal Code which Mr. Wolffe was using to make his submission and that the court could not second guess the legislature.

"There are lots of provisions of the law I personally may not like,'' said Mr. Williams. "It's not my position sitting here to unilaterally change them.

I have to deal with the law as it is.'' Mr. Wolffe also argued that the inconsistencies in the girl's testimony were not sufficient to disregard altogether the evidence she had given.

He suggested that the evidence given by the girl had been supported by the evidence by prosecution witnesses including a medical doctor and the girl's mother.

The accused man faces six charges stemming from three occasions when he allegedly fondled the girl when his wife was employed by the victim's mother.

The alleged offences are said to have occurred between October, 1999, and September last year.