under-age niece said he was harassed by the girl.

But he admitted he never sought help from her parents or the Police.

The 34-year-old Pembroke man is charged with having unlawful carnal knowledge of a young person and three counts of sexual exploitation of a young person.

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

The defendant told the seven-man, five-woman jury the girl came to his home and job sites on numerous occasions after making an allegation against him in October 1995.

He said his niece was uninvited and unwelcome each time, but could not explain how she knew where to find him.

The defendant also filed a complaint against his niece because he suspected she had broken into his apartment.

However, he later dropped the charges.

"This young woman was harassing you. You had the opportunity for the law to deal with her, but you withdrew?'' asked Crown counsel Patrick Doherty.

Mr. Doherty suggested the man had withdrawn the complaint because he feared the girl would tell the authorities of their ongoing sexual relationship.

Mr. Doherty also suggested the defendant had allowed his estranged wife to spend the night at his home on March 10 so that she might avoid a subpoena to appear in the trial.

Earlier in the trial the defendant said his niece might have made the allegations of sexual assault because some of her family members disliked him.

But Mr. Doherty said the girl's claims that she was in love with the man and that she saw nothing wrong with their relationship did not indicate dislike.

"She said those things because you seduced her when she was a young woman,'' Mr. Doherty charged. "She had no idea of the gravity of the situation.

"She thought it was love, but it was really abuse.'' Sgt. Sharman Marcus, formerly attached to the Community and Juvenile Services Department of the Bermuda Police, also testified yesterday.

Sgt. Marcus was the supervising officer in charge of the investigation into an allegation made in October 1995 by the girl's mother against the same defendant.

She told the court she met the alleged victim on two occasions and described her demeanour as confused.

She also said the girl seemed to find the situation "hilarious'' and was unusually interested in sex for a 12 year old.

Sgt. Marcus said she eventually recommended the original allegation not proceed to prosecution, but admitted the final decision was not hers to make.

The 1995 investigation was eventually discontinued.

In support of the defendant's earlier testimony, a business acquaintance said he was with the man when the girl visited her uncle's home.

He described the girl's behaviour as immature and said the defendant had to ask her several times to leave.

He said he also saw the girl on different occasions at the construction site where he and the defendant worked.

Last Friday, the 16-year-old alleged victim told defence lawyer Archie Warner she and the defendant had been engaged in a sexual relationship up to March 11, 1998 -- the night after the trial began. Yesterday, a female friend said she was with the defendant from 5.20 p.m. on March 11 to about 5 a.m. on March 12.

But she told Crown counsel Charlene Scott she could not account for the defendant's whereabouts for at least 30 minutes.