A woman who claimed a family friend sexually assaulted her admitted that she had made false allegations against other men as a teenager.

The witness told the Supreme Court that while she had lied in the past, she regretted the decision and apologised to those she had falsely accused and their families.

“I don’t think anybody deserves to be falsely accused,” she said.

“I was a young girl who was lost. I was mentally not in a good place. There were a lot of things going on in my household and I was doing this all myself. I was making mistakes.

“As an adult, I have had to learn about how I made the choices I have made.”

The defendant, 59, has denied nine charges related to sexual offences against two young sisters including unlawful carnal knowledge, attempted unlawful carnal knowledge and sexual exploitation.

Neither the defendant nor the complainants in the case can be identified for legal reasons.

The elder of the two victims told the court earlier this week that she first met the defendant in 1992 when she was 11 years old and he was about 30.

She told the court that the defendant moved into the family home, and that she had accepted him as a trusted family friend.

She told the court that their relationship changed when he sexually touched her and attempted to have sex with her after a trip to the movies.

The witness said that he went on to have unlawful carnal knowledge of her on “numerous occasions” afterwards, recalling once incident that took place on a mattress in a private club.

As the trial continued yesterday, she accepted that when she was 15 years old she falsely claimed that she had been sexually assaulted after she was caught by her older sister at a boy’s house.

She also accepted that when confronted about her false allegations, she made false allegations against someone else, but later went on to apologise to those she had falsely accused.

“People deal with trauma and stress differently,” she said. “I have learnt that over the years. I cannot recall exactly what was going through my mind.”

Charles Richardson, counsel for the defendant, suggested that the accusations against his client were another lie, but she told the court that she had changed as an adult and regretted her past mistakes.

“I’m not willing to sacrifice anything for a lie,” she said.

The trial continues.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding criminal court cases. This is to prevent any statements being published that may jeopardise the outcome of that case.