sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl.

Magistrate Cheryl-Ann Mapp heard that the accused, who worked with the girl's father, visited her home after 8 p.m. on February 17, 1994 while her parents were not there.

The girl's brother allowed the man to enter the house.

According to a statement made by the accused to Police, he drank half a flask of black rum and entered the bedroom to watch a movie with the children.

He said the boy was sitting on his lap and the girl was lying by his side.

Eventually, he added, he dozed off.

But investigating officer P.c. Meredith Brady said the girl claimed that the man put his hand down her pants and touched her private parts.

And the girl's mother yesterday testified that when she returned from work on the day of the alleged incident her daughter had been sexually "harassed''.

"I approached my husband about the matter and he left the house,'' she recalled, "I next saw him, when he arrived home again.'' The mother added that she had known the man "for a while'' and that he had visited the house before when her daughter had been present.

The man, however, stressed to Police that he could not remember the incident because he had passed out.

He also admitted that he often had blackouts when he drank.

But Police questioned why he did not report that the girl's father had hit him on the leg with a baseball bat after learning about the alleged incident. The accused, who was yesterday represented by lawyer Patricia Harvey, said he was in shock.

The hearing will continue on Monday.