with his seven-year-old daughter.

The elderly man has pleaded not guilty to having unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 14 years as well as to the alternative charge of incest.

The man had also denied three counts of unlawful and indecent assault, and sexual exploitation of a minor by a person in a position of trust.

The girl, now 12, told the nine-woman, three-man jury that her father first tried to have sex with her in 1992 when her mother went abroad to Las Vegas.

"He tried to stick his penis into my vagina,'' the youngster recalled. "He was sticking his tongue in my mouth.'' The youngster, who could not remember the dates of the alleged incidents, noted that the first incident took place while she was in her mother's bed.

And she said the acts continued long after her mother returned from her trip, with subsequent incidents taking place while her mother was at work.

On the other occasions, the youngster said in addition to the attempts to have intercourse her father made her rub him.

The youngster said the incidents continued until 1994.

She said she told her friends about the incident last year and they told her to tell her school counsellor.

She said she kept silent because "he (her father) said if I told anyone, he'd cut my ass''.

The case continues today before Puisne Judge Norma Wade with Charlene Scott appearing for the Crown and Mark Pettingill for the defence.