A vengeful schoolgirl posted flyers in town and spray-painted obscenities branding her uncle a child molester, a Supreme Court jury has heard.

And her mother cried as she told how Police did not act on a complaint, forcing her to watch as her "happy, bright 12-year-old'' daughter deteriorated into a "problem'' child admitted to St. Brendan's Hospital.

"We were very close and she was a delight to me, she still is. She was always very intelligent and good at school. There weren't any serious problems before this happened with the defendant.'' The man, 35, has pleaded not guilty to having unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under 14 and three counts of sexual exploitation of a young person between August, 1995 and January, 1996.

The mother told the court yesterday that Police were first notified about the case in October, 1995 after her daughter confided in a counsellor.

"We had no idea before that, he was involved in our business and he used that to get to my daughter,'' she said.

Nine months after the first complaint to Police, she contacted them again when she found out sexual contact had not stopped, she said.

"The first time it happened the Police didn't do anything so we contacted the Police again. It seemed like they were not interested.

"Things got so bad that I told her that the only reason I could think of to explain why she was being so rude to me is that she did not know what she was doing -- and people like that belonged in St. Brendan's.'' The mother became angry during cross-examination and sobbed: "My 12-year-old child was raped by a man 20 years older than her and you're asking me dates as if they matter?'' She admitted her daughter spent four or five days in St. Brendan's in September, 1996 but said she had taken her there only as a "scare tactic''.

Under cross examination, the schoolgirl admitted she had spray-painted graffiti on her uncle's house but would not confirm it called him a "faggot''.

She also admitted she had broken into her uncle's house to "get him back'' for ending a sex-session abruptly, and posted several flyers around town branding him a child molester.

"I overreact sometimes,'' she said.

"I did that because he was sleeping with a girl whose name begins with Z and I don't know how many other people. I was real mad because all he kept saying was he loved me and he wanted to be with me, not 1,000 other women.'' The trial continues today.