"vexed'' after the girl slapped his hand away from her body.

The 53-year-old Pembroke man is charged with sexual exploitation of the 14-year-old girl.

None of the names of the persons involved in the case may be disclosed for legal reasons.

In earlier testimony, his niece claimed her uncle groped and attempted to grope her while she was in his car on May 17 this year.

On the first occasion her uncle reached out and placed his hand on her private parts for 30 seconds on Wilkinson Avenue, she claimed.

And she told the court she slapped her uncle's hand away when he attempted to grope her a second time on Berkeley Road.

But according to the man, he reached out with his hand to attract his niece's attention on Wilkinson Avenue.

"I was looking at my daughter's house, I was not looking at her,'' he testified yesterday in Magistrates' Court.

"If I touched her somewhere else, it was pure accident. I don't know exactly where I touched her.'' And he maintained the touch lasted for only a "split second''.

The second controversial incident took place after the man tried to find his cousin on North Shore Road, Pembroke.

He had already given his niece $20 that day and hoped to get more money from his cousin to give to her, he said.

"I told her that if my cousin was home I would give her the other money to make up to $35 for the swimsuit,'' he said.

Upon discovering that his cousin was not at home, the girl was disappointed and quiet, the man added.

"I said I'm sorry I couldn't get you the money for the swimsuit and I went to touch her on her leg,'' he went on.

The man said he had no intention of touching her between the legs. Although he was once again not looking at her, he had intended only to touch her between her knee and mid-thigh to console her, he explained.

"Before I had a chance to touch her properly, she smacked my hand away,'' he said.

"I was more than shocked,'' he added. "I couldn't believe what happened...I was terrified, I was hurt. I didn't know what I had done wrong.

"I was vexed, I didn't know what to say. She wouldn't even say anything. It took me for a six.'' The man also admitted allowing the girl to drive his car in the Clearwater Beach parking area earlier on the day of the alleged incident. And he said he told her that she would have to give him a "smooch'' on either side of his face each time she made a mistake.

But he denied the kisses were sexually motivated.

According to the girl, her uncle kissed her on the face ten times.

Senior Magistrate Will Francis yesterday rejected a submission from defence lawyer Philip Perinchief to dismiss the case.

Mr. Perinchief argued that contradictions between the girl and her mother's testimony weakened their credibility.

The trial continues on August 24. Lesley Basden appears for the Crown.