CRIMINAL SESSIONS

Evening Star, Issue 18628, 8 May 1924, Page 9

CRIMINAL SESSIONS

DUNEDIN. The criminal sittings of the Supremo Court were resumed tiijs morning, before ■His Honor Mr Justice Beed. CHARGE OF ASSAULT. Thomas Turnkill was charged with that;'-on or about March 19, lie did' assault a female of fourteen years. Mr T. O'Shea appeared for accused, who pleaded " not guilty." The Crown Prosecutor (Mr F. B. Adams) said accused was charged with common assault. The facts of the case were exceedingly .simple. Tho alleged offence took place- on ,i Saturday afternoon near King street, in Albion place. Accused met the girl and asked her to go with him. Ho drew her through the door to his place, according to her statement, without her 'consent. Just inside was another door which led into a bedroom. Accused took the girl in there, sat on a chair, and pulled her on his knee. Ho asked her for a kiss, but, though she refused, he took three. Then ho tried to ect her on tho bed. The girl's mother then appeared on the scene. There was no suggestion of any actual interference. Tho question was : 3)id accused touch the girl against her will? Learned counsel lilted "that to take a kiss without consent was an assault; and to lay hands on a person without consent was an assault. Tho firl o-ave evidence of meeting the accused"on The day of the alleged offence, and detailed subsequent happenings m accused's house. ' To Mr O'Shea: She did not call out when accused kissed her. The bedroom door and the front door were open, and there were a number of houses near-by. The mother of complainant said that she found her daughter and accused together in tho bedroom. The child was verv excited. lMeetivc Favqnharson gave evidence ot having arrested accused, who replied that the charge was "ridiculous," and added: " Have you had the girl medically examined?''' Later accused said that he had a man named Cupple with him. on the day the occurrence took place. Mr O'Shea said that tho defence would call evidence in denial of the statement made bv the chief witness. This ( would bo .supported by 'Mrs Wheeler, wfio was the cause in the first instance of complainant's mother going to accused's house. The accused said that he called the complainant over and asked her if she knew where his sister was, who was a cripple, and also the whereabouts of the girl'who wheeled her about. He went into her house to take off his hoots. The girl came into the room and put her arm around the back of the chair. She had been in the liouso on several previous occasions

.His Honor: Have you been briefed in this way? Air O'Shea: Yes. His Honor: Why didn’t you ask these questions of the girl? Mr O’Shea : They didn’t occur to me. His .Honor said that it was an extraordinary thing, as the evidence suggested (hat the girl had practically invited herself in. His Honor added that lie never heard of .Mich a tiling being done before.^ To "Mr Adams: The bedroom was his married sister’s. Ho was commonly in and. out of (he bedroom. The girl came, in by herself and leaned on the bad: of the chair, but he did not say anything, because the children made free we of the placet He went over to the bed to get away from the child, and the girl followed him over andi leaned against it. He did not touch the girl. To His Honor: It was untrue to say that he put his arm aroun d the girl The girl’s story of kissing was an invention from beginning to end. .Minnie Wheeler said she saw the girl going into tho house and saw her come and look out the door and then go back again. Witness then sent her own little girl to tell the mother of the other girl what she had, seen. Had the girl been dragged' into the house by accused, witness must have seen it.

In addressing the jury, sfr O’Shea contended that the Crown had a. very weak care, lie proceeded to deal with discrepancies in the evidence of the Crown witnesses. The chief point of the Crown’s case was the allegation that the girl had been, dragged into Ihe house, but that had been contradicted by -Mrs Wheeler, who was a respectable married woman. The case practically rested upon suspicion ■alone. Learned counsel drew tho attention of the jury to the fact that both thefront and tho bedroom doors were open at tho time of the alloyed, offence. He .suggested that a miscreant who was contemplating a crime of this kind would not leave tho doors open. There was a reasonable doubt, and ho contended Unit the prisoner must lie given the- benefit of the don hi.

-Mr Adams, in addressing llio jury, said 11)0 extraordinary feature of the case was the story put forward by accused for the iirsl time to-day. It was not suggested during llio cross-examination of witnesses, but when llio accused himself was in the box. _ Learned conn sol contended that it, was in favor of the Crown ease when AI is Wheeler suggested (he motives which led her to send for (lie mother of the girl.

His Honor said that as a. rule a charge, of common assault was dealt with by" a magistrate. In the 'present case, however, accused had been indicted both for indecent and common <u«wvlt. Ait the suggestion of His Honor, however, the grand jury bad thrown out the charge of indecent assault, and returned a true bill on.lv with respect lo common assault. The defame was practically a denial of the child’s islnry. In the ordinary conduct of a case the defence suggested to the witnesses for the prosecution wha't the defence was, but in tins ease it had not been, done. Accused said be did not tell the ■story to (he parents, because (hey were too exerted, but why be should not tell the constable hi? story was not known. Something bad' been said about the discrepancies in the evidence for the prosecution. Experience, however, showed that if two people told a story in the same way it raised rnii'di more suspicion than if two people told a story which differed in minor matter;-. The onus was upon the frown to prove the charge. If the jury thought the girl's story was a faibri.en.tion, then the accused should be discharged. The jury retired at 12.10 p.m., anil returned at 12,15 p.m, with a verdict of “ Not guiity.” Tim prisoner was discharged.

WILKINSON'S CASE. William Mie'liard Wilkinson- appe-ared to answer the chart's: — 1. On «i' about .hi.nunry 29 did unlawfully supply m'tiin noxious filings (pills), imt'ii'dins t'lii-' Kinn: to he used with intent to procure ;i. miscarriagi l . 2. On or about the same data did attempt ninhvwfuliy to supply a noxious .tilling to Ji'.nws P.ichard M'('lkiV.li. kiuwinr; i'ho r;mic to hr: .unlawfully n»;d. <.r lidble to bn .ti.'ed, to proi'tiro niiswuTiag?. The Crown I'r.si'ciitor (Mr [•'. B. .Adams) eojuluclofl tlio o.r-o for th'> Crown.

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■ Kvidencc was jriv«u by Robert Murdoch Vnikinsou, chemist, who stated that the oiils produced, for which £1 was charged.

'were worth 30b. It would not ibe usual, bo said, to find such. pills in the ordinary chemist's shop. Tike court adjourned for lunch. PALMERSTON NORTH. In the Supremo Court Henry Simpson, Arthur Melvin Taylor, Otto Kregher, and Richard G'avigan appeared) for sentence, having pleaded gmllty yesterday tochcirges of conspiracy to defraud the OhafterJham Dairy Company by furnishing false cream tests. In .scniLending Simpson, to six months i.u gaol, His Honor said the accused bad been convictd of charges of fraud, and the offence was a most .serious one. Ho did not believe Simpson’s statement that the offences dated from November, but took '(Jho view that they bad been going on for a longer period. The sentence was not longer, 'because this was the prisoner’s first lapse. Addressing the other accused, His Honor said the ends of justice would bo served by fines. Kregher and Taylor were each lined £IOO, in default eight months. Gavigan was fined £SO, in default four months. WELLINGTON. A negro named Christopher Martis failed to appear in the Supreme Court this morning on charges of theft from the person. Bail was allowed Martis, who has a record, and he went to Australia. The hail of £IOO was ordered to be estreated. Francos Osman Burke, on the same charge, was then placed in the dock, and pleaded not guilty to the charge. A Maori, Miroi Urupini, was found guilty of breaking and entering a house in Lyall Bay. .Sentence was deferred.