A man accused of sending inappropriate Instagram messages to his partner's 11-year-old daughter claimed when confronted that his account had been hacked, the ACT Supreme Court has heard.
The child's mother said she was traumatised when she saw the material, which included references to wanting to see the girl's "nude body".
The 49-year-old is on trial in the ACT Supreme Court for grooming the 11-year-old after he formed a romantic relationship with her mother, who he met on an internet dating site.
The man told her he worked for the Australian Federal Police, but was on stress leave at the time.
One message allegedly sent by the man to the young girl said "I want to see your nude body … Yes or no".
Another said "I liked your very short skirt".
"I liked holding your hand. Did you like it? I can't wait to do it again," a third message said.
The girl told police "I've been getting weird, awkward and inappropriate messages from [the man]".
Upon finding the messages on her daughter's iPad, the woman said she called the man and asked him to come to her house.
The woman told the court the man suggested his account had been hacked, and urged her to delete her accounts, which he said might also have been hacked.
The woman and two friends, who were with her, began photographing the messages but she said some of the messages had already disappeared.
She said she remembered the message about the short skirt because she was shocked by it.
"My feeling was he's looking at her legs," she said.
The trial will continue tomorrow.
