A jury was expected to retire today in the case of a Salvation Army minister accused of indecently assaulting a teenage girl.

Stephen Wilkes, 45, is alleged to have assaulted the girl when she turned to him for help over family problems.

Wilkes, of North Road, Evesham, Worcester, denies two charges of indecent assault. He was cleared on Friday of rape.

Judge David Rennie directed the jury to return a not guilty verdict, ruling that the evidence against Wilkes on the rape allegation was "tenuous and speculative".

The assaults are said to have taken place in Crawley when the girl was in her early teens. She is now 30.

The jury at Hove Crown Court yesterday heard evidence from the woman's mother. She told how her daughter had lied to her on numerous occasions when a schoolgirl.

She said: "I remember I had to go up to the school because she had taken a pregnancy test.

"My daughter told me she had lost her virginity at a family wedding but years later said that it was untrue.

"At one stage I was going to go up to the school because she had a crush on a teacher and told me he had asked to see her after school. She told me later that it was lies.

"She told me that she had lost her virginity at a cousin's wedding but years later told me that was also untrue."

The trial continues.