SERIOUS CHARGE

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11835, 17 January 1933, Page 7

SERIOUS CHARGE

ALLEGED OFFENCE AGAINST ... girl >

FREDERICK HIGGS COM BUTTED - FOR. TRIAL

Alter a lengthy hearing in ; the Police Court, yesterday afternoon before Mr J. Ormond and Mr H. Kenway, J.P.’s, a man named Frederick Higgs, 31 years of age, was committed to the Supreme Court for trial on a charge of.; allege# assault on December. 27; on a girl, of eighteen years with .intent'to commit rape. Senior-Sergeant . TVade; prosecuted and Air X. T. Burnard appeared -on behalf of accused; .' " ■ M

Informant %aid she- was eighteen years <ofag§. On-the night of December 26 she attended a dance in.' the country, golSig there in company with a married woman. After the dance she left for home in company -with a young man whom she had known. toilsome time under the name of Jimmy McGee. He said he would take her home as he was-going home hi a friend’s car. They yyaited outside the gate of the hall for the car, but it did not arrive. Then 'a-'chr came towards her, and she-asked, if the driver could drop her near, hei-yhome at Te Hapara, but he- said-he;-was going to Heston. She did not know the driver. She 'only Knew Jimmy McGee, whose name she later found out was Jimmy Higgs. His brother, the: accused' Fred Higgs, whom she knew as Fred McGee,- was also-in the car. She got in the cat. at the invitation, of accused who said he would see her home and that she could'-trust him. There was no one else in the back of.the car but the accused and herself. She did not know who was in the front seat. There were four but all were strangers to -informant except Jimmy McGee. They then all went to Makaraka where the car pulled .up and accused got out. Jimmy Higgs and another man also got out. Jimmy Higgs asked her to go home with him but sherefused. She ran after the car and got into it with the accused. Then they drove on and The car .stopped, continued the girl, at Makaraka where accused and informant got out and walked on in the direction of Gisborne. While walking They met a car bn the road. The.people in the car pulled up, and offered accused a drink. These .people had whisky and beer in the v car. She was nsk&ff to have a drink hut refused. The earthen moved on and they kept on walking.

Finally they; cam e to the road lead, ing into the Makaraka racecourse, she continued, where accused pulled her in xhrough the gates, and they sat down. She, asked to he taken home, and accused then attempted to assault her, but she ran away. Accused caught her on the road and pulled her into the ditch. She screamed and he tried to smother her, putting his two hands over her mouth and nose. She struggled and continued to scream. Accused again attempted to assault her, and told her to be quiet, but she screamed. Finally he let her go. She had lost tier purse in the struggle and she asked accused for it. He found it and threw it at her. The pur'se was then open and a powder compact etc. was missing. When he had his hands over her mouth her lips were cut and bleeding, and her <chin was" injured.

After she got, thepurse, 'continued informant, she ran. away, hut had no idea where she' (was going. After running som e time she saw Constable Heaslip, who asked her where she was running, and -where was the accident. Slie; said she was' running home.’ She asked the constable to take her home and told him what had happened. Constable Heaslip then took her home. On the same day she again saw Constable Hea'slip and reported the loss of her powder compact etc.; and they ■-went to the spot? where she and accused ‘had been .. early that, morning, and the constable found.the missing articles with, the exception of ,-a box .of powder, which she found in the ditch.' - When 'sW was running away she told accused :'she 'would report the matter to l the police. In explanation of the accused being known to her as McGee, informant said* she went to. a dance at the Carltom. Hall and met there a man who caid. he. v^s-Jimmy McGee.'She found out later that his haiile was Jimmy Higgs. She met--'his brother, ..the accused't' before she found out his true mame, and naturally thought his name was McGee. - . To Mr Barnard: She started Trorn the dance v?itfejimmy Higgs butdiad a row withHhun before the. car-came up. Amongst,Hie.[people ; m the ;«ar was Jimmy but the others were

s i angei s. It wa s the first time she had'been, picked up bv strange men in a car. She had not been picked np by tour strange men in a, car near Vic. toria Domain. a few weeks ago when a company with another girl. Asked if she recognised a man. in. Court a s one o$ those men who alleged he had picked her Mp, she said she did not. She repeated that assertion, and said she did not remember the incident. She would not deny it but could only say she did not remember. Accused had previously asked to take her home from the Carlton Hall but she refused. Jimmy Higgs had seen her home on two occasions. She had never told accused that she was in love with his brother. She denied stopping at a shed when Jimmy Higgs took her jhome, and denied , that intercourse had taken place.on that occasion. She denied that on another occasion when Jimmy Higgs saw her hom e they stopped in a paddock and that when there he had intercourse with her. She was not. very friendly with Jimmy Higgs. It wa* true they had had a tiff at the dance. She had quite a number of dance s that night with accused but that (was not the cause of the quarrel. On the night- of the assault, she screamed repeatedly when she wa 3 pulled into the race, course road,, hut later she stopped and 'said she wanted to go home-- Then they sat down talking. After repeattag details of the alleged assault, informant denied that, in running away she tripped and fell, and hurt her mouth in falling into the ditch. She had her purse, in her hand all the time but not when she was *n the -ditch. She dropped it on the road probably while she was running. .Accused had never, told her that, his name was McGee, but he. said he was a brother .of Jimmy, so she -assumed his name was McGee. A married woman gave evidence as to attending the dance on the '.night in question with the informant as her companion." When about, to come back together informant stepped back from the bus to . speak to jimmy Higgs, and-just then the bu s moved oil'. She called but to the girl to "Come on.’ , -but got no answer and the bus wouki not wait. Witness thought the girl would he quite safe. She knew that Jimmy Higgs bad taken her home from other dances. •

Another witness, a married woman, residing at Makaraka, said that on the day in question at. about 3 a.m. when she was in bed, she heard the ■screams of a girl. Thei screams woke her up. It was a kind of muffled scream, hut it was snffreient to make : wijfcness sit up in bed and listen. It continued- for some time and then stopped and then she heard a girl crying and she went to the telephone a tndl rang no the police. She listened and heard a girl’s voice saving, “Help me.” Then she heard. footsteps tip the road, some one running and some one following. She did not fell the police there had been a motor accident but that thought 'came into her mind. Constable Heaslip .said that alt 2.45 a.m. otrii. December 27 he received a telephone message; from the last witness, stating that there wa s a n accident near the railway crossing and a woman was screaming. He walked into the road atnd saw a girl coming towards Matawhero. In reply to a question she said 'she was going home. He tasked her where she had been and she.isaid she had heen tO I a dance. He asked her if she had heard of th c accident at the railway crossing. She said- she had not, but said that a man had indecently assaulted her. Witness asked who the man was, and she said it -was Frederick McGee, as she called the accused. She then gave particulars of the alleged assault. Eater he took the girl home and reported the affair to her father. The girl was very excited when he first met her, and there was blood on her lips and her chin. The girl had no idea where she.was running: She thought she was going in'the direction of town but instead was running in the opposite direction. ■ Witness and the girl later inr the day" returned to the scene oi the alleged a'ssault and witness found the powder compact, and also saw signs of a struggle. Witness made inquiries 'as tp- Frederick McGee.- He interviewed aceifsed, Higgs,' at' his home and took a statement from him. In this statement accused detailed the movements, on the night of of he dance on lines somewhat similar to those given by the girl. Tlei said . that 'when'they came to the' Makaraka racecourse road the girl entered ■ willingly and 1 , sat.’ down. -Later she jumped up-,and ran and;, fell, into the ditch and. lie picked her 1 np. "She sang out twhen;-she fell in' the- ditch arid said •she--had injured 1 herself.- He alleged that the girl -had'.-'refn’sed-to ihisebn-

duct herself with him because she said ho might tell Jimmy and the latter would be jealous. Accused denied that, he had Assaulted the girl, . FOR THE DEFENCE The case for the police then closed and Mr Rurnard called evidence for the defence.

James Higgs, laborer, of Hexton, said he knew informant, and had danced with her a number of times and bad seen her home. Witness wa's then asked by counsel as to alleged intercourse with the girl. Senior-Sergeant Wade objected to the evidence. The girl hau already denied these allegations in cross-exam, ination.

Mr'Hiir.ua.rd said he wag, quite willing; to have the question answered subject! to objection. Senior-Sergeant Wade quoted cases on these lines, showing that, such evi-

dence could not be given. - Mr Bernard said the cases quoted were not simitar, but the senior, sergeant bold that they were. Mr Kenway said the Bench thought It- should ‘disallow the evidence. It did not, affect the charge of assault. The, senior-sergeant said Mr .Barnard could pursue his proposed course in the Upper Court if lie thought fit. Onco the . girl in cross-examination had denied the allegation it could not bg : produced' as evidence. Air Kenway said it seemed to the Court that the particular question did not affect the c-n'se and was banned by the law.' The question before the Bench was whether they considered tne. evidence sufficient to make out a prima facie case.

The objection was uphold, on the lines that the girl in croks-examilla-tion bad denied the allegations.

- Jack Gallagher, laborer, said that near the end of November lie and three other men were in a motor enr going to Patutahi when they saw two girls on the street- at: about 1 a.m. The informant was one ol the girls. He stopped' the car anti picked the girls up. They; said whore they lived and then were driven to near their home. They sat in the car for about two hours. One of the girls suggested they should go for a jov-ricle, but the driver didn’t have'enough benzine. He had heard the girl say in • evidence that she had not picked up hv four men in a car and he denied that statement. There was no doubt- in his mind that informant wa’s one of the girls. To Senior-Sergeant Wade; He was a friend of accused’s brother. He happened to mention that he had been out with the girl, and accused’s brother asked witness if he would swear this in court. Witness said lie would. Hi s mates were named Martin and Deal. The girl's were picked up near the , old Victoria Domain. They wore going towards their homo. He did not suggest there was. anythi.ngnvrong in giving the girls a- lift ° Mr Burnard reviewed the evidence and contended that it was nob sufficient- to justify the ctfsc going before a* jury. ; Senior-Sergeant Wade held that a prima facie case had been made out. ' The' Bench held there was sufficient evidence to warrant the case going to the Supreme Court. - Accused pleaded not guilty and was committed to the Supreme Court for trial; bail being renewed as- before—self in - £SO and one surety of £IOO.