with two counts of sexual assault, after exhaustive cross examination of one of the women who accuse him.

For legal reasons the teacher and the two former students who say they had their breasts touched by him cannot be named.

One ex-student claims the teacher brushed his finger against her breasts in a classroom full of pupils.

Most of yesterday's session was taken up with defence lawyer Richard Hector's cross examination of a woman who claims to have been fondled by the teacher back in 1988.

Earlier in the day Crown Counsel Phillip Storr had his witness tell the court of an incident alleged to have taken place in the teacher's car during a lunch break.

According to the woman, who was 16 at the time of the alleged assault, she was driving back to school having picked up lunch at a shop. She said that because her bike had a flat tyre she had accepted a lift from the teacher who then took her to a parking lot ostensibly to eat lunch.

The former student, who is now in her 20s and married with children, said the teacher put his hand on her breast and touched her thigh before saying, "you've got great tits.'' Defence lawyer Richard Hector reviewed her testimony in a cross examination which lasted a number of hours. At various times the defence attorney suggested the woman's memory was faulty.

The witness had given statements to the Police in January when the case was first investigated and had changed parts of her story since, amending her statement as recently as September 4.

Mr. Hector suggested the witness had lunch in the teacher's car more than once and that she flirted with him on a number of occasions.

He said the witness called the teacher "sexy,'' referring to him as "her honey'', and had only come forward with her story after being prompted by a school guidance counsellor.

At one point the woman, who fought a losing battle to hold back her tears, apologised for her confusion.

"I'm sorry,'' she said, "I'm tired.'' The session closed with the testimony of the investigating officer, Sgt. Clark Minors, who took the stand to relate two interviews with the teacher in which he denied the allegations against him.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Hector cross examined another former student, a girl who claims the teacher brushed his finger against her breasts while grabbing a necklace she was wearing. The girl claims the alleged incident, which she did not report at the time, took place in a classroom full of students.

During the defence's cross examination, the former student said the accused was a good teacher who had taken over a difficult class from a colleague. She said the teacher she accused of assault had occasion to admonish her for her behaviour in class. She admitted resenting the teacher for doing so.

The teacher, who was suspended from duty last year and is now unemployed, originally faced two counts of assault and five counts of intruding on the privacy of a girl. The latter charges have been dropped.

The case continues today and it is expected the teacher will take the witness stand in his own defence.