CONVICT SENTENCED TO BE WHIPPED

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30498, 21 July 1964, Page 13

CONVICT SENTENCED TO BE WHIPPED

Ten Strokes Ordered By Adelaide Judge (N.Z. Press Association-Copyright) ADELAIDE, July 20. A whipping of 10 strokes and imprisonment for three years for an offence against a girl were sentences imposed on a man today in the Adelaide Criminal Court.

Mr Justice Chamberlain said that if the provisions of the law for corporal punishment were not to be treated as a dead letter this case was an outstanding case for their use.

“Indeed it is a case which demonstrates, at least to me, the wisdom of keeping those powers alive,” said his Honour.

The accused man was Raymond George Ledgard, aged 39. a labourer, of Kilburn.

He was also sentenced to imprisonment for four years on each of four other charges. The Judge made all sentences of imprisonment concurrent. Ledgard had pleaded guilty to a charge of having attempted to have carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 11, and four charges of having indecently assaulted boys under the age of 10.

His Honour said that Ledgard had terrified the children by threats of violence into submitting to acts of revolting indecency.

The law required that for the offence against the girl, Ledgard should be ordered to be whipped unless the Judge was of the opinion that there was adequate reason for not making such an order.

He said he had warned Ledgard of this and had invited him to apply for legal assistance in case some adequate reason against ordering a whipping could be found.

Ledgard had not accepted the invitation and was prepared to take the consequences of his crime, which he had freely admitted to the arresting police officer. “While you have therefore not added to the wrong done these children by putting them through the ordeal of giving evidence it still remains a very grievous wrong,” said his Honour. “I see nothing whatever that can be treated as a rea-

son for not imposing the statutory penalty,” said his Honour. Ledgard had a bad and varied record, said Mr Justice Chamberlain. He had been ordered imprisoned in 1949 for indecent assault and had since had convictions for shop-break-ing, impersonating the police, carrying an offensive weapon and being unlawfully on premises and being in possession by night of house-break-ing implements. If there is no appeal within 10 days, Ledgard probably will be whipped with the traditional cat o’ nine tails. A medical examination is always carried out before a whipping. The sentence in the past had been carried out at Adelaide gaol in the presence of a member of the prison staff and a doctor. Offenders are whipped across the back with the upper and lower parts padded. The whipping leaves no permanent scars or injuries.