A defence lawyer yesterday branded an alleged sex assault victim “a liar and a thief” as she recounted his criminal past.Shade Subair revealed the convictions of 21-year-old former office clerk Mr X as she cross-examined him during the trial of her client, Mr Y, at Magistrates’ Court.Mr X claims he was repeatedly molested by Mr Y, his much older manager, between February and June 2009. Mr Y, 58, denies ten counts of sexual assault.Ms Subair said to the alleged victim yesterday: “Let’s talk about what kind of person you are. You are a liar, aren’t you?”He replied: “That’s your judgment. You can’t tell me what I am. I believe that I have lied in the past, yes. Everyone has.”Ms Subair said: “You are a thief, aren’t you?”The young man responded: “Yes, I went apart in my ways years ago and I paid the price for it.”Ms Subair cut across him as he spoke, prompting Crown counsel Nicole Smith to request: “Can the witness finish his answers?”Ms Subair said: “Sure, we’ll be here all night.”Ms Smith countered: “He has the right to speak.”The witness told the court: “I was homeless. I did what I had to do for a matter of survival. I stole from the people. They forgave me and up until this day we communicate.”Ms Subair asked him to confirm he was convicted for theft and forgery of cheques in 2007. Mr X agreed, adding: “In my past.”The lawyer asked if he was convicted the same year of handling stolen goods. “I might have,” replied Mr X.The trial previously heard allegations from Mr X that he was sexually assaulted at his home, in his manager’s office and at a guesthouse by the defendant.He said on June 16, 2009, he received a text from Mr Y telling him there was no need for him to return to work.He went to see a female supervisor who, after consulting another manager, advised him he was being put on paid leave pending an investigation.Yesterday on day four of the trial Ms Smith asked him why he eventually went to police.“There is only so much that a person can take,” he said. “[For] me personally, when I lost my father, that was my breaking point... I had to stand up for what was happening to me.“I couldn’t just stand back and allow it to continue. I couldn’t just let it happen to someone else.”Ms Subair asked him to confirm he told detectives in an interview in December 2009 that he told his relatives about the case involving Mr Y.The witness said: “All they know is something happened to me and I’m standing up for what happened to me because I’m not letting this happen to me or someone else. I’m the victim.”Ms Subair told him she did not want a speech, only answers to her questions.She later asked him if he had bought a $300 BlackBerry in 2008. Mr X said that was incorrect.The lawyer went on: “Let me jog your memory. It’s no secret, is it, that you have been charged with having stolen a BlackBerry from [the office where both men worked] in which you say [Mr Y] gave that to you as a gift?”She asked him to confirm if he told police who questioned him about the alleged theft that he bought a BlackBerry in 2008 for about $300. Mr X said he did buy the phone and that he had employment at the time.Neither the defendant or the alleged victim can be identified for legal reasons. The case continues.