Bookseller admits 22 charges

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33450, 4 February 1974, Page 14

Bookseller admits 22 charges

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON. David Keen Mitchell had said that because of a much publicised visit to his shop by “a certain I woman who campaigns against indecent documents” many people I expected him to stock and sell pornographic 1 material. Mr J. A. Wicks, S.M., was told. I The Magistrate was told by the police that Mitchell, aged 42, a bookshop proprietor, had said he decided to ‘cater to the demand and eventually specialise in it.” Mitchell pleaded guilty to 22 charges laid under the Indecent Publications Act. He admitted six charges of selling an indecent document, five of possessing an indecent document for the purpose of hire, 10 of possessing an indecent document for the purpose of sale, and one of exhibiting a restricted indecent document. The Magistrate adjourned! the case to February 8 for i a probation report. He made; an order for the destruction of the books, which had been; seized. Sergeant W. R. Wilkey said’ vice squad detectives visited i Mitchell’s bookshop in Upper! Cuba Street on the after- i !noon of July 9, last year. While at the shop counter detectives saw a copy of the book “Naked Sex Positions” being prominently displayed. A 15-year-old schoolgirl i was standing at the counter. The book had previously, been declared by the Indecent Publications Tribunal to be indecent in the hands of persons under 18. The detectives noticed a magazine partly hidden in a post rack. It was a pornographic photo-book from Scandinavia, showing nude males and females in grossly indecent poses. The next day, when vice squad detectives returned to the shop with search warrants, a detective discovered at the back of the premises a box containing 61 ’copies of pornographic photo 'magazines similar to the one [seized the previous day. Mitchell had said he I bought the magazines from:

an English seaman for $5 each, and sold them to some of his customers at $8 a copy. Two Bmm “blue movies” were also found. Mitchell had said he bought them from [the same seaman for 825 (each, with a view to selling them to shop customers for [about S6O each. I Behind the shop, detectives■ 'found a large pile of paperback books which, Mitchell [said, were his lending! (library or book club. ■ “Each one of these paper’back books was grossly indecent, some of them having been previously declared indecent by the Indecent Publications Tribunal,” Sergeant Wilkey said. He said a check of the

i members’ index showed there , were 60 members of the , library. Mitchell had been ' running the library since i about November, 1972. ! During this period Mitchell ' had received slightly more • than 8900 in subscriptions ' and borrowing fees from members. '! More pornographic books; were found when Mitchell’s: car and flat were searched. I- Sergeant Wilkey said that Mitchell, in a written state- ■ ment to the vice squad, said ' he started his business some ■ years ago as a card and posI ter shop. ■ “However, after a much publicised visit to his shop by a certain woman who i campaigns against indecent

: documents, many people ex- : pected him to stock and sell i pornographic material, so hej ’ decided to cater for the de-i mand, and eventually to speI cialise in it.” ! Sergeant Wilkey said that; ; on January 15 this year an i undercover constable visit ad ; Mitchell’s bookshop. Inforntaiition had been received that • Mitchell was continuing to [sell indecent documents after : his premises had been ■ searched. I Mitchell produced eight : books, all of which were’ • grossly indecent. The con-, ’stable selected three, and II paid Mitchell $3O. >1 Soon afterwards the police )[entered the shop with a t 1 search warrant.