Cemetery scene for alleged rape

Press, 26 January 1979, Page 5

Cemetery scene for alleged rape

The courts

Do not scream or you will wake the dead, and if you're not careful that is where you’ll be,” a man, aged 34, told a 14-year old girl as he was raping her in a cemetery, the Magistrate’s Court heard yesterday. Three men appeared for the taking of depositions before Messrs C. A. Pilgrim and L, M. Hooker, Justices of the Peace, charged with raping a 14-year old girl. Kenneth Francis Brown aged 34. a shed hand, faces three charges of raping the girl, a State ward. Her name was suppressed at the request of the prosecutor, Sergeant M. P. Caldwell. Geoffrey Rex Hodson, a labourer, aged 20, and Kevin Neil Porter, aged 17, each faced one charge of rape. Each of the men is also charged with having sexual intercourse with the girl, and inducing her to do indecent acts upon them.

Brown is charged with abducting the girl and all three face charges of assault with intent to commit rape. No pleas were entered.

The court was cleared at the request of Mr Caldwell who said that the girl would be submitted to a traumatic experience in giving evidence. The Justices of the Peace excluded the public but after the reading of what Sergeant Caldwell called a “sordid” summary, they ordered that only the girl’s mother remain in the court.

Sergeant Caldwell said that soon after 4 p.m. on December 28, the girl had decided to visit several friends in a sleepout at the

back of a property at 8 Van- i Icouver Crescent. The three defendants had arrived in a 1 car several hours later, he 1 i said. 1 The numbers had slowly :i [dwindled until only the com- ( i plainant and the three ac- , cused were left. Sergeant ( Caldwell said that when the;, [girl had attempted to leave'] .Brown had picked her up [and thrown her on a bed ( and got on top of her. He said that Porter and ‘ Hodson had held her legs , while Brown had had sexual ! intercourse with her. An un-t, known person had come into[ the room and said that thei, police were on their way,!, and Brown had jumped up and told the girl to get , dressed. The girl had refused' to leave with the but Brown had pulled out a [ > knife and told her to go to a car parked outside. The girl had gone with the[j defendants to Woodendi beach where they decided to!. ;go for a swim. Brown had , !told her to take off her , [clothes and had then thrown [her into the water, said Ser- [ [geant Caldwell. When she!, had got out of the water he! had forced her at knife-point I, to kneel and perform an indecent act. . Brown had then forced her , to get into the front of the! car an told her to perform i ( indecent acts with Porter,, and Hodson. The girl said! that she had obeyed him be- , cause she felt safer in thejj front seat. She said that; Hodson had declined! l Brown’s order for her to doy an indecent act but that Porter had asked Brown for hisi knife and forced her to per-! form the act upon him. The girl told the court']

that when she had tried to I stop the sex activity withj Brown he had hit her in the! face. After about an hour at I the beach the three had got 'into the car again and head-! ed towards the city. In the car Brown had again pro-! duced a knife and forced the! [girl to do an indecent act on( him. she said. At the Linwood Memorial Cemetery, the girl said that Brown had forced her out of the car, pushed her to the ground and had intercourse with her. She said that when I she had tried to scream ! Brown had put his hand 'over her mouth and said, “You’ll wake the dead, and ; if you’re not careful that is iwhere you’ll be.” | Brown had then forced her [to do an indecent act with 'Hodson before he raped her: again. Hodson had then dri-! [ven the car to Porter’s [home. I The girl told the court ; that she lived at a State Welfare home and had been 'given leave on December 24 [to visit her family on I Christmas Day. She said [that she was meant to re-| [turn to the home on December 26 but had not wanted to go back so she had spent the nights in a car at New Brighton beach. She said [that she spent the night at the beach by herself or with’ (friends "fairly often.” Asked why she had com-j plied with everything that! Brown had asked her to do[ [she replied: “Every time I [would not do things with [Neil or Geoff, Ken came at [me with his knife.” j The case was adjourned 1 part-heard.