A 12-year-old girl dramatically told a Supreme Court jury she punched her teacher in his stomach and ran away when he tried to kiss her at school four years ago, saying: "I felt scared and mad, angry."

The girl's testimony came before Crown counsel Juan Wolffe rested his case yesterday afternoon in the trial of a 53-year old Smith's Parish man charged with 11 counts of sexual exploitation.

The incidents are alleged to have taken place between 1997 and 1999 at a school where the defendant - who cannot be named for legal reasons - was then employed.

When asked by Mr. Wolffe, the girl told the court that she knew why she was there, saying: "Because (the defendant) did something nasty to me."

"What did he do that was nasty to you?" asked Mr. Wolffe.

"He tried to kiss me," replied the student.

She told the court the defendant had grabbed her upper arm in a "tight" grip and pulled her towards him. He then grabbed the other arm and tried to kiss her cheek.

"I felt scared and mad, angry. I punched him in the stomach and I ran," she said, explaining the incident occurred when she was in Primary Three.

The teacher tried to kiss her again, she continued, while she was in Primary Four, as she was going for a drink of water.

She did not tell anyone about the incidents, and she had no explanation why.

Then she told the court she saw the defendant doing the same thing to another student and, after seeing that, the witness said, she told the other girl: "He did the same thing to me."

On cross-examination defence lawyer Elizabeth Christopher went over inconsistencies in the girl's testimony and her earlier statements to Police.

Large portions of the cross-examination were concerned with exactly where on school property the girl was when she saw the teacher with the other student, whether other students were around at the time, and the order of classes during the days in question.

The student denied suggestions that she never saw the teacher with the other student, and she denied she was confused about what she had or had not seen.

Ms Christopher then asked her if investigating officers had helped her remember what happened during her statement, but the girl hotly replied: "I remembered it by myself."

The student told the court and Assistant Justice Charles-Etta Simmons that she thought the defendant was "nice", even after he took some students on a school trip but did not allow her or some other students in her class to attend.

But when asked by Mr. Wolffe "What did you think about him after he tried to kiss you?", the girl said: "I didn't like him."

The Police officer who took the student's statement .

Reading from a transcript of the statement, Pc. Thompson said she first asked the student: "Do you know why you're here today?"

When the student said yes, the officer said she then asked "Okay, do you want to tell me?" and the girl's reply was: "About (the defendant)?"

The officer explained she probed further, saying: "And what about (the defendant)?"

"He was touching all the girls," the girl's statement continued.

The student then told Pc. Thompson nobody had told her about the alleged assaults, but when the officer asked how she knew, the student amended her answer, saying: "Well, somebody did tell me."

Later, said the officer, she asked the student if there was anything more, the girl said the teacher had also been touching two other students. Still reading from the statement, the officer told the court she questioned further, saying: "How do you know - did you see him?"

The girl replied: "I'm not really sure, I think they kind of like told me."

And when the officer asked what the other girls told the student, she replied: "(That) he was touching them on their privates and all that.'"

The remainder of the afternoon session was tied up by legal arguments. Ms Christopher is expected to begin the case for the defence this morning.