The 34-year-old man charged with having sexual intercourse with his under-age niece denied all charges in Supreme Court yesterday.

He told the seven-man, five-woman jury he had known the complainant for about five years before the allegations were made.

He said he used to see her when he visited the home of his wife's family but only took part in "a little conversation here and there'' with the alleged victim.

And he suggested his niece had made the allegations because some of her family members did not like him.

On the day of the first alleged sexual exploitation the defendant acknowledged he engaged in a playful conversation with his niece at her grandmother's home.

But he said he did not kiss the girl and left the home after roughly 30 minutes.

He also rejected the girl's accounts of events leading to the first alleged sexual intercourse.

Earlier in the trial, the complainant said she met the man at Bernard Park on January 3, 1996 and had sexual intercourse later the same day.

Yesterday, the defendant acknowledged he had seen the girl at the park, but said the date was February 6, 1996.

He told Crown counsel Patrick Doherty he specifically remembered the day because he was involved in a car accident shortly after seeing the girl.

But he denied kissing, fondling or having sex with the alleged victim at any time on February 6 and said she was in his car for one to two minutes only.

The defendant -- represented by Archie Warner -- also told the court he suspected the girl had broken into his home.

Before the day's proceedings, Chief Justice Austin Ward dropped three of the seven charges against the defendant.

The man now faces one charge of having unlawful carnal knowledge of a person under 14 and three charges of sexual exploitation of a young person during the period from October 1995 and July 1996.

The trial continues today.