CHILDREN'S COURT Youths And Girls On Sex Charges

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31119, 23 July 1966, Page 20

CHILDREN'S COURT Youths And Girls On Sex Charges

“It is impossible to have anything but the greatest disgust for your behaviour. The quickest way to ruin your lives is this sexual misconduct,” said Mr E. S. J. Crutchley, S.M., in the Children’s Court yesterday when two sisters appeared on charges of being delinquent. The girls, aged 14 and 15, admitted the charges. They were represented by Mr L. M. O’Reilly. After hearing the facts the Magistrate placed them under the supervision of a Child Welfare Officer for two years. Sergeant F. G. Mulcare said the girls ran away from their home near Christchurch on the evening of Saturday, April 23, and were found by the police the following Tuesday morning. The girls said they had run away because their mother had not allowed them to go to the pictures. They went into the city, met two youths, and spent the night in their flat. On the Sunday evening they met four more youths and went to Hagley Park with them. The 14-year-old girl said she allowed the four youths to have sexual intercourse with her, the other girl denied having had intercourse, said Sergeant Mulcare. The girls returned to the city and met some youths from a hostel. The girls were take to an old vacant house at the rear of the hostel where they allowed the youths to have intercourse with them. The older girl said 12 youths had intercourse with her and three youths attempted to have intercourse.

The younger girl said the youths had queued up to have intercourse with her. The youths had had intercourse with the girls a total of 29 times, said Sergeant Mulcare. Both girls had been willing parties to the offences. The girls denied emphatically that they had in any way incited the youths, said Mr O’Reilly. It was clear that they had not appreciated the seriousness of what they had been doing and had not ap-

predated the moral and social implications. There was no truth in any suggestion that the girls were experienced in such misconduct —according to their parents they had both been virgins, said Mr O’Reilly. This made the case all the more tragic. Youths Fined Eleven youths were fined on charges of sexual misconduct when they appeared before Mr K. H. J. Headifen, S.M, Two of them had been remanded from the Magisstrate’s Court on Thursday, and they were all concerned in offences against the two girls who appeared before Mr E. S. J. Crutchley, S.M. Two youths were aged 17, six were 16 and three were 15. Four of them were fined £l5 each, six were fined £lO, and one was fined £5. They were charged variously with unlawful sexual intercourse, attempted unlawful sexual intercourse, or indecent assault. All the youths admitted the charges and were represented by Mr R. G. Blunt. Mr Blunt said the affair was a disgusting one which had brought great shame on the hostel, its organisers, and the Maori race. The house concerned was not on hostel property, not all the boarders took part and some of the younger boys had been led on by older youths.

The hostel relied on its senior hoys to enforce discipline and on this occasion had been let down by them, said Mr Blunt.

The Magistrate said the two girls involved were “exceedingly poor types indeed,” and he regretted that their names must be suppressed. A fine of £3O was imposed on a youth, aged 16, who admitted a charge of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl in Hagley Park on April 24. Another youth of the same age was fined £2O on a charge of attempting to have sexual intercourse. He admitted the charge. A charge of having unlawful sexual intercourse against a third 16-year-old youth was adjourned to August 5 after he had said he would deny the charge.