A preteen girl told a jury that she was sexually assaulted in her family home as a Supreme Court trial began yesterday.

The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, described to jurors how a man groped and had sex with her 2½ years ago.

Her emotional testimony came on the first day of the trial of a 26-year-old man facing several sex offences involving a minor. The girl said that she and her young cousin were alone at her home with the defendant at the time of the incident.

She said that the man had first grabbed her upper torso and that he later tried to put his hand into her pants as she lay on the bed of a family member.

The girl said: “I kept trying to push his hand away.”

She said that the man later had sex with her on the same bed where her cousin was sleeping in front of her.

The girl told Maria Sofianos, for the Crown, that the man did not say anything to her during the incident and that she remained silent. She added that she could not remember what the man was wearing at the time.

The defendant, who also cannot be named for legal reasons, denies unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 14, and two counts of sexual exploitation of a young person by a person in a position of trust. The three charges relate to an incident alleged to have taken place on or about September 23, 2016.

He has also denies attempted unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 14. That charge relates to an incident alleged to have happened on an unknown date between June 27, 2017 and September 11, 2017. The defendant is represented by Elizabeth Christopher. Karen King, also for the Crown, told jurors that they would hear evidence of the defendant’s guilt.

She said: “You will hear that he sexually exploited her.”

Ms King said that the defendant had touched the child sexually and that he had sexual intercourse with her. She added that the child had disclosed what had happened to her in November 2017.

The trial continues before Acting Puisne Judge Craig Attridge.

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