YOUNG MAN DECEIVES WOMEN

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 100, 22 January 1926, Page 4

YOUNG MAN DECEIVES WOMEN

VARIOUS SUMS OF MONEY OBTAINED

Ou the pretence that ho was a friend of tho family, Harold Richardson Kerr, a traveller, collected quite a little sum of money from unsuspecting Wellington housewives. He was about to leave New Zealand when the police heard that ha wa Q on board the Moeraki, bound for Melbourne. A radio message was immediately sent to the vessel nt Bluff, and Kerr was arrested only a few minutes prior to tho ship’s departure. Yesterday ho appeared before Air. E. Page, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court, and pleaded guilty to five charges of obtaining a total sum of «£l7. Mr T. P. Cleary appeared for accused, and Acting-Chief Detective Walsh conducted the prosecution. . “Accused made a practice of calling at liouses during the daytime and asked for certain male members of the far* ily,” said Mr. Walsh. “When told that they were not in, Kerr explained that he knew them well, and wanted them to identify him at the bank in order to got sonic money, lhe women usually lot him have a small sum of money, and in that way ho defrauded a largo number of people. He has admitted eleven similar'offences committed at Auckland, Wanganui, Marton, and 1 almerston North, and these are being inquired into. Moreover, it was only throimh an offence at Nelson that he was identified. He has ten previous convictions for theft and false pretences. Tho offence of false pretences is a very prevalent one in the Dominion at the present time. Cases are continually coming before the Court, and as a rule tho victims are tradespeople. In this particular case, however, women have suffered.” ~ , , , Mr. T. R. Cleary said that the circumstances surrounding the charges were quite correct as stated by the prosecution. “I am appearing really on instructions from tho mother of accused, he continued, "and it seems that some few weeks ago the members «f this man’s family decided that perhaps the best thing to be done for accused whs to give him another opportunity of leaking a new start in another country. It was obvious, continued counsel, that he had made a very bad start, so his mother got in communication with certain friends in Melbourne with a view to finding employment for him. Moreover, he had this in view that some two years ago he was married and his wife, from whom he was separated, wao residing in Australia, and it was thought that a reconciliation might be brought about. It was with this in, mind that he was about to leave New Zealand when he was arrested. JTc was taken to Iseison and dealt with there on the charge mentioned by the prosecution. Counsel suggested that even nt that laic stage an opportunity be given accused to lead a new life. “I think a term of reformative detention will have to be imposed,” said Mr. Page. “On the first charge 1m will be sentenced to reformative detention for two years and on each of the other charges he will be convicted and ordered to come up for sentence when called upon within two years.”