FOLLOWED A GIRL.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 231, 28 September 1915, Page 2

FOLLOWED A GIRL.

I IN PONSONBY AT NIGHT. A MAX FINED £5. A caso r>l eomr pitbin- interest, in view of thi" occasional alarms caused among women in, the city and suburbs by the behaviour of i-trajig; , men towards them, ■was concluded in the Police Court thi» morning, when Mr. E. C Cutten. S.M., jivi' judgmc-i-t in a charge against Francis Michael Skinn. a taili>r, aged 34 years, that on August 11 he assaulted Row P»-p*"eeh.

His Worship stated thai the evidence of the girl ku that about 10 o'clock ot tho evening of the date iti question the defendant, whom she, did not know, epekc to her at the Pitt Mreet tram ftop. When hh«" took no notion and got into a tram, he also pot into the tram and eat faring her. nn«i stared at her during the tram journey. Whrn she K"t out of the car, at Rata. Street, Pon«or4>v, he got out iL-o. and went dciwu the Htreet close behiud h*r. When she walked fnj-t. he walked fast, and eventually when she took to her heels and ran to her houee, in Klizabelh Street, eho saw Skinn at the gate ju.-it a* she got to the back door.~ On three fails Skino was v-hirgrd with assault. 'Pio points to consider were the identity of tlm man, proof ol the fact.*, and then whether the forts constituted an assault. • hi the evidence, when it was shown that accused eat "taring at the piri in the tram for some, time, the girl tiiu every opportunity for identification, nnd hi> Worship hjid no hesitation at all in accepting the Mnntiiicatmn. particularly n* the evnlew* brought t>v the defenv to endeavour to disprove the charge showed that .icruseJ β-a* in the locaJity about the time. A* to the question of a.«*sault, t.he speaking to the Ctrl and staniwr it- her in tiie tram wa* behaviour, but it was .questionable if it constituted assault. But to get out ot the tram and iolloiv the girl at night in a direction, away from hi* home, to walk quickly wh«n she walked quickly, and finally to rush after her when siw ran, made It clear ihal he was following her under circum-stami-s th-.it. in hia Worahip'f opinion, constituted α-viauil. The mo.it favourable light in whicti hi* conduct could be considered wee that he had taken a violent fancy to the girl, and wnnted to find <.ut where she lived in order to make her acquaintance. *t winy oilier time. Kveo at that it wm grossly improper, and wjj> the kind of thin;; that must be stopp-'d. Accused would be convK-tcd end lined £:> and 12 co->t», in default month"* imprisonment. A request by Mr. LunJon (ot Ui<increase of the fine by a -.lulling, to enable an appeal t.> I* , made, warn declined, but a roquet to allow act-used to pay in instalments <>f 1° •> week wu* granted.