A 78-YEAR-OLD Weymouth man accused of sexually abusing a child over 30 years ago told a court the allegations were ‘a load of rubbish’.

Aubray Arthur Pegg, 78, of Canterbury Close, Weymouth, is accused of multiple counts of indecent assault and two counts of indecency with a child. Pegg is on trial at Dorchester Crown Court and denies all seven counts relating to the same victim.

The alleged offences span a period between January 22, 1986, and January 22, 1990, when the defendant was mid 40s to early 50s and the alleged victim was aged between six and eight. Six of the counts refer to multiple incidents.

Defending, Mary Aspinall-Miles asked Pegg: “Have you ever sexually touched or abused the alleged victim in anyway?”

The defendant said ‘no’ and described the allegations as ‘a load of rubbish’.

Pegg denied ever having any physical contact with the alleged victim and told the jury that he ‘could not think of a reason’ why the victim had ‘made up’ the allegations. DC Simon Bond, the officer in the case, also took to the stand on the third day of the trial.

Prosecuting, Heather Shimmen read to the jury a conversation between the alleged victim and a police officer, when the allegations were first made.

In this interview, the victim said: “Looking back on it, it just makes me feel physically sick.”

The trial continues today.