Buddhist monk Naotunne Vijitha pleads not guilty to historical child sexual assault charges

A senior Buddhist monk has denied sexually assaulting six girls at a Melbourne temple and has pleaded not guilty at his County Court trial.

The complainants, who are now in their 30s, allege Naotunne Vijitha targeted them when they attended the Dhamma Sarana temple in Melbourne's south-east between 1994 and 2002.

Reverend Vijitha, who was the head monk at the temple, has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges of sexual penetration of a child and nine charges of committing an indecent act with a child under 16.

On Wednesday, prosecutor Fiona Martin told the jury the alleged offences took place at the temple's initial headquarters in Springvale, and later at its purpose-built Keysborough site.

The monk allegedly lured the girls to his living quarters and sexually abused them, Ms Martin said.