An Indigenous artist accused of impregnating a 12-year-old girl has told a court his "body turned cold" when the girl allegedly confessed to having sex with him while he was passed out

Dennis Michael Nona, 41, has pleaded not guilty in the ACT Supreme Court to two counts of having sex with a child and two counts of an act of indecency in the presence of children.

Dennis Nona. Credit:Getty Images

In her opening statement, Crown prosecutor Margaret Jones told Chief Justice Helen Murrell and a jury that Nona had sex with the girl in her home in February 1996 and again in April, causing the girl to fall pregnant.

But Nona told the jury he had never had sex with the girl he met while visiting a house known for hosting two-to-three day parties with heavy drinking.