A 79-year-old Niantic man pleaded not guilty Thursday in New London Superior Court to charges that he sexually assaulted a young girl over a five-year period.

William D. Moore was arrested in July by East Lyme Police and charged with risk of injury to a minor and fourth-degree sexual assault. He made his first appearance Thursday in the court where major crimes are tried.

Moore used a cane to walk slowly to the defense table and stood with his attorney, Dean J. Golembeski, during his brief court appearance. Judge Hillary B. Strackbein reminded him there is a protective order in place that prohibits him from contact with the alleged victim. Strackbein said she would be appointing attorney Lori Hellum as a guardian ad litem to advocate for the child during the court process.

Moore is due back in court on Oct. 10. 

According to an arrest warrant affidavit written by Detective Jean Cavanaugh, the Department of Children and Families notified the police in March that a teenage girl reported to a friend and a school social worker that she had been abused by Moore over the past five years.

The girl said Moore began touching her over her clothes when she was approximately 10 years old and eventually began trying to touch her beneath her clothes and making her uncomfortable.

She later underwent a forensic interview at Yale-New Haven Health Center, where she described the incidents in further detail.

Cavanaugh interviewed Moore with his attorney present. He admitted to touching the girl's breasts, saying at first that he didn't know why he had done it. He went on to say that he thought he was paying her a compliment. He said he never had any intention of having sex with the girl.

Moore went on to describe several occasions when he touched the girl sexually. He said he asked her if she liked it, and she said no.

k.florin@theday.com