A man accused of sexually molesting his friend's daughter was an authority figure who abused his position to force the then-teenage girl into sex acts, a court has been told.
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Michael Alan Gillard, 57, is accused of abusing the then-adolescent girl between 1995 and 2000 when she stayed with him in Canberra during holidays.
He has pleaded not guilty to a number of charges, including committing an act of indecency on a child aged under 16, and sexual intercourse without consent.
Gillard's defence has argued that the only sexual contact between the man and the alleged victim occurred after she turned 16.
The indictment against Gillard was amended yesterday for the third time after defence barrister Ken Archer produced military records on Monday showing his client was not living in Canberra when one of the incidents allegedly took place.
The Crown conceded it would not press two of the charges on the indictment.
Prosecutor Margaret Jones told the jury that many of the events took place before the alleged victim turned 16.
Ms Jones said even if the alleged victim was aged over 16 when some of the sex acts occurred, she could not have consented to the activity if that consent was caused by Gillard abusing his position of trust and authority over her.
Ms Jones said Gillard often drove the girl and her sister to Canberra to stay with him during holidays and provided food and accommodation.
The alleged victim's mother had given evidence that she expected Gillard would treat the girls like his own children.
Ms Jones said the alleged victim's submission to the sex acts was caused by Gillard abusing his position as a family friend, or unofficial godfather, who had looked after her when she was in Canberra for a number of years.
She acknowledged the prosecution had never been in a position to pinpoint the dates that the sexual abuse allegedly took place but said the evidence showed the young woman did suffer abuse. But defence barrister Ken Archer said the ambiguity around the dates did matter.
He said the prosecution had failed to provide any real argument about whether the alleged incidents occurred before the girl turned 16 and police had failed to investigate the matter closely.
Mr Archer told the jury they were not there to determine people's morals or to decide whether Gillard did the right thing or betrayed his friends.
He said all but one of the charges facing his client were the matter of ''one person's word against another''.
Mr Archer will continue his closing submissions today when the trial resumes before Chief Justice Terence Higgins.