and will be sentenced for a crime described by a magistrate as "one of the worst cases of child molestation ever seen''.

The 40-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of touching his girlfriend's 11-year-old relative for sexual purposes between September 30 and October 18, 1996.

The girl, then aged nine, contracted at least two sexually transmitted diseases, including herpes, as a result of the molestation.

The crime, which was tried in Magistrates' Court in July, was considered so severe that Magistrate Edward King sent the case to Supreme Court for sentencing -- citing the Magistrates' Court maximum sentence of five years imprisonment as "insufficient''.

Defence lawyer Victoria Pearman appealed the judgment on the grounds that there had been no evidence proving the offence was committed between the dates listed on the charge.

But Chief Justice Austin Ward said there was medical evidence as to the incubation period of the diseases associated with the abuse. He said a "reasonable deduction'' could be made as to the time frame within which the offence occurred.

Mr. Justice Ward similarly rejected other grounds for appeal that the Magistrate's findings of fact were unsupported by evidence, that he failed to give consideration to specific pieces of evidence, and that inadmissible evidence was taken into account.

He ordered that the man be brought before the court for sentencing today.