A man has gone on trial accused of repeatedly having sex with a friend's adolescent daughter, who says she was raised to regard the man as ''an uncle''.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Michael Alan Gillard is standing trial in the ACT Supreme Court charged with a number of offences dating back to the early 1990s.
The 57-year-old pleaded not guilty to a 19-count indictment spanning a range of sexual offences, including having sexual intercourse with a child and committing an act of indecency, over a number of years.
The incidents allegedly occurred in Christmas holiday periods between about 1993 and 2000 when the complainant and her sisters stayed with Gillard in Canberra.
The prosecution has alleged on one occasion, after the complainant had turned 17 years old, Gillard forced her to perform oral sex on him while her younger sister watched. He has also been charged with committing an act of indecency on the younger girl in relation to that incident.
Some of the incidents are alleged to have occurred when the primary complainant was legally under age - incidents Gillard's lawyer denies took place - while the prosecution says others were committed without her consent after she turned 16.
The court heard the accusations were first made to police in 2007.
The alleged complainant, who is now 30 years old, began giving evidence before Chief Justice Terence Higgins yesterday afternoon.
She described spending time at Gillard's Canberra home over a number of holiday periods.
The woman said Gillard had one rule - the sisters had to leave the door unlocked whenever they took a bath or a shower in case of an emergency.
She gave evidence that when she was about 12 years old Gillard rubbed her chest and outside of her pyjamas in her genital area one night as they watched television.
''[I] freaked out, I grabbed his hand and told him don't do it because I didn't want him touching me,'' she said.
Gillard has also been charged with possessing child pornography, relating to three photos allegedly of the complainant, found when police searched his home in 2009.
In an opening statement Gillard's barrister Ken Archer said the case would come down to his client's word against that of the complainant.
Mr Archer said his client had a sexual encounter with the young woman at some point after she turned 16, and took some photos of her after she reached the age of consent.
But Mr Archer said that was the extent of their sexual relationship.
The lawyer also said the defence would challenge the chronology of some of the incidents.
The complainant is expected to continue giving evidence tomorrow when the trial resumes in the Supreme Court.