The trial of a 40-year-old Somerset man accused of molesting a young girl began with the victim taking the stand.

The defendant has denied four counts of sexually exploiting a seven-year-old girl while in a position of trust on unknown dates between August 1 and September 30 last year.

The court heard the four charges relate to two separate incidents, both of which occurred in the defendant’s home.

Neither he nor the victim can be identified for legal reasons.

As the trial began yesterday the court heard evidence from the victim, now eight years old, who described the alleged attacks.

She told the court that at the time of the incidents, she was out of school and spending much of her time swimming with her siblings.

During these trips, she said she was watched over either by her mother or the defendant.

On the day of the first incident, she said the defendant had taken her and some of her siblings to 9 Beaches resort in her mother’s car.

While the children swam, she said the defendant chatted with friends and drank beer.

Eventually, she said they left, with the defendant driving her and her brother to his house. While the victim’s brother watched television, she said the defendant received a phone call from her mother, telling him that the girl needed to take a bath.

The victim went to the bathroom and, while taking a shower, called on the defendant to wash her back for her. She said the defendant came into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

She told the court he handed her a towel when she got out of the shower and stared at her as she dried off. The defendant then exposed himself and began to touch the naked victim sexually, kissing her in the process. He eventually stopped, saying he was “done” and whispered in her ear: “Don’t tell anyone before I get locked up.”

However the girl said she told her mother about the incident that evening.

Days later, she said the defendant came to her house, inviting her family to another woman’s house. They accepted the offer, travelling to the house, where the victim said she and her brother played with kittens.

As they prepared to leave, the victim asked to go on the defendant’s motorcycle because she had never been on a motorcycle before. She said the defendant drove her to his house, brought her inside and set her on his lap. He then touched her sexually before her brother interrupted them, knocking on the door and running into the house to fetch her.

The victim said she immediately told her mother that the defendant had touched her again. She said her mother responded by saying one day she would really tell the police.

She said she had liked the defendant, who had bought her fries and hamburgers, but now she was glad he was locked up.

Defence lawyer Kenville Savoury suggested that defendant refused to enter the bathroom while she was showering, but the victim said that was not true.

And she denied the suggestion that she had made up the story altogether, maintaining that he had sexually touched her on both occasions.

The trial will continue today.