innocence last week in Magistrates' Court.

The 43-year-old St. George's man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with sexual assault on a female between January 21, 1995 and August 31, 1996. He also faced an alternate charge of touching the female's private parts with his genitalia while in a position of trust.

And he pleaded not guilty to inciting the same person to touch his penis while he was in a position of trust between the same dates.

The girl, who was no older than eight at the time of the alleged incidents, told the court how the man -- her mother's live-in boyfriend -- had on four occasions sexually assaulted her while her mother was at work.

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

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

"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 during the other incidents the defendant rubbed his penis against her vagina.

"The fourth time he told me to sit in his lap,'' she told Magistrate Edward King. "I did and then he told me to lay down on my mother's bed. He pulled down my underwear and he rubbed his penis against my vagina.'' During cross examination by defence lawyer Keren Lomas, the child admitted that she was often mad at the man for arguing with her mother.

And she also admitted that by the time that the man moved out she hated him.

However she said, the hatred had not driven her to fabricate the stories.

The girl's mother said she found the child to be withdrawn during the time the alleged incidents took place.

She said she felt that the child and the man had gotten along for the most part.

And she said she was shocked when her daughter came and told her that she had been "child abused'' by the man.

The defendant took the stand on Thursday and denied the allegations.

"As far as I'm concerned it's lies, because it wasn't me,'' he said.

He said he felt the girl, who once looked up to him as a father figure, accused him because she was mad about the fights he and her mother were having.

"As the relationship went on and we started fighting I noticed that the child's attitude toward me slowly changed and at the time I left it was really bad,'' he added.

The case will continue on September 3 when Ms Lomas will present her submissions to the court.