A man accused of sexually assaulting his former de facto stepdaughter, who was aged 9 at the time, on three occasions is standing trial in the Supreme Court in Launceston.
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The man, who cannot be identified, pleaded not guilty to one count of maintaining a sexual relationship with a person aged under 17.
In her opening remarks on Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Avery detailed the three instances in which the man allegedly sexually assaulted the young girl, who had been left alone in his care at a property in Launceston.
They each involved allegations of indecent touching, and in one instance the man was accused of telling the girl "it would be their secret".
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The girl chose to disclose the alleged abuse several years later. Ms Avery said the girl did not tell anyone at the time because she was "young, immature, shy and she was scared".
The jury was told there were further allegations of inappropriate non-physical sexual conduct, as well as tickling, committed by the man against the girl.
The girl took part in three interviews with police over four years, which were to be played to the court, and other family members would also give evidence as part of the trial. The girl provided the only eye witness account.
Defence counsel James Oxley said the girl's evidence to police contained "remarkable differences", and he described her allegations as a "product of fabrication".
"I would ask you to consider how she describes the same event in remarkably different ways as she talks across those three interviews," he said.
"Her accounts... are totally and completely rejected by [the accused]."
The trial continues.
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