Youth jailed for indecent assault

Press, 12 August 1978, Page 4

Youth jailed for indecent assault

Children in the community had to be protected by the. Courts, said Mr B. A. Palmer, i S.M., in the Magistrate’s I Court yesterday when he sentenced a 19-year-old un-i employed youth to 12 months imprisonment on a charge of indecent assault. Anthony David Trowbridge, iwho last week was convicted of indecently assaulting a six-year-old girl in an empty section on June 25, was told by the Magistrate that it was a most unpleasant assault. “You molested and criminally assaulted a young girl aged six. You imposed yourself on her in a way that was totally unacceptable to the community,” he said. While counsel (Mr D. I. Jones) had urged that the matter be dealt with by something short of custodial sentence, the Magistrate said he was unable to deal with the matter in any other way than by the imposition of a fail sentence. He was sympathetic to the defendant as a human being, but a deterrent sentence was called for, said the Magistrate. Mr Jones had submitted that the offence, though serious, had been out of character with the defendant’s previous history, although it was admitted that drink had played a part. He said that at 19 Trowbridge was in danger of being institutionalised. $9OO FINE A 48-year-old man with assets of $90,000 was fined

$9OO and ordered to make restitution of $452 when he appeared for sentence on three charges of theft. Alan Albert Leopold was told by the Magistrate that theft as a servant was a very serious offence and that by his acts he had abused the trust of his employer. The Magistrate said he accepted that Leopold was a man of previously unblemished character and that with assets and capital amounting to more than $90,000 he was a man without financial need.

There was no suggestion that what he did arose from any psychological problem. In fact, he said, no positive reason had emerged as to why the defendant had acted as he had. Counsel (Mr M. J. Glue) said it was one of those distressing cases which came before the courts from time to time involving the repeated abuse of trust. He said the offences were committed by a man of good intelligence, who was popular and respected and who had considerable ability and initiative. Last week the Court heard that Leopold, working for a liquor retailer, had stolen $452 when he accepted cheques and then took cash for the same amounts from the till on three occasions. (Before Mr F. G. Paterson S.M.) MEN REMANDED Two men were each re-

tnanded on bail of $250 when they were charged with breaking and entering the fishing boat Snark, the property of Howard Tissiman, at Lyttelton yesterday. No pleas were entered by Kim Lafferty, aged 23, a welder, and Andrew Wallace 'McQueen, aged 18, a storeI man. Both were remanded to ■ August 18. TOOK TV SET ' A 28-year-old shunter ■pleaded guilty when he | appeared charged with steal- ' ing a $5OO portable television ■set. | Johnny Kupa was convicted |of the charge and remanded !on bail of $5OO to August 21 (for a probation report and ! sentence. Detective Sergeant J. J. Chadderton said at 3.30 p.m on August 3 the defendant took the television set from the office of a city hotel where it had been left by the complainant for safe-keeping. Detective Sergeant Chadderton said the property had since been recovered and returned to the complainant. NO PLEA Russell James Pirie, aged 23, unemployed, was remanded without plea to August 18 when he appeared charged with behaving in a threatening manner in the foyer of the Princess Margaret Hospital and to having in his possession in the same foyer, an offensive weapon, namely a locking-blade knife, on August 10.