LAW AND POLICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8662, 3 September 1891, Page 3

LAW AND POLICE.

SUPREME COURT.— Sittings. Wednesday. [Beforo His Honor Mr. Justice Conolly.l . Indecent Assault.—William Vereker Bindon surrendered to his bail, and was charged that on the 3rd of August he committed an indecent assault on Edith Annie Aspiriall. He pleaded not guilty- Mr. -K.. Hesketh and Mr. Cotter appeared for the accused, and Mr. Hudson Williamson prosecuted on behalf of the Crown. On ; the application of Mr. Hesketh, witnesses were ordered out of Court. In opening the case, Mr. Williamson explained to the jury what constituted the offence of indecent assault, stating that to constitute ail assault it was not necessary that any serious injury should bo inflicted. The case would for the most part depend on the evidence of the girl, although it would be to some extent corroborated by other witnesses. She would tell them that on the ■ 3rd of. August she was sent by her mother -with a letter to Mr. Bloomfield, solicitor, who had offices in tlio first floor of the Government Insurance Buildings. She went there about three o'clock in the afternoon, and Mr. Bloomfield not being in she waited, and the accused came up the stairs. She asked him when Mr. Bloomfield was likely to bo back, and ho replied to the effect that ho did not know, and lie went downstairs. She also went downstairs, and met accused coming up again, and he suggested to her that they should go to the upper storey to see whether Air. Bloomfield was there. She did so. The whole of the rooms on this Jloor were vacant. Ho went before her into one of the rooms. She followed him, and he put his arm round her waist, knocking off her hat, and committed the assault complained of, besides making some indeoent suggestion. She resisted, and threatened to tell the police, and he lot her go. She went downstairs, accused following her, and he offered her a shilling to say nothing about it. The child's mother would inform them that her daughter came home crying, and mado a complaint as the result of which she informed the police, and the accused was arrested. If there should be any question as to identity there were witnesses who would prove to having seen the accused in the place at about the time alleged. Mr. Cotter said that would not bo denied. Edith Annie Aspinall, who stated that she was going on for 14 years of age, then gave evidence, supporting the opening statement of the Crown prosecutor, and she cried bitterly when she described the assault. She said she screamed out; and ho asked her for a kiss, and said he likod playing with little girls like that, but she got away from him, and told him she would toll the police if hedid not leave her alone. She started to go down stairs, and he called out to her that he would give her a shilling to buy some lollies, but she was not to make a noise. She said nothing, but went straight down stairs, and when nearly at the bottom of the upper flight of stairs she saw a gentleman, and looking back she saw accused, who was then at the bend of the stairs, draw back, and ho waited until the gentleman had gone away. .She thought the gentleman was Mr. Speight, but she did not look at him. . She went straight horns and told her mother what had occurred. She was too much afraid of Mr. Bindon to notice the other gentleman. The witness was cross-examined by Mr. Cotter. She was quite sure she had told the Court all that occurred, but she had not a very cood memory. Nothing improper had ever been done to her before, but at the time it was being done -ho thought it wrong of the accused. It was nearly a year sinco sho left school, and since then she had been doing messages for her mother, and until this occasion sue had neither seen nor spoken to the accused, and she had only been once before to Mr. Bloomtield's office. She was cross-exam-amincd as to a conversation between Mr. Speight, and accused, in the passage, relative to some rooms, but sho* said she heard nothing said about Air. Bloomfield or his movements. She was also cross-examined as 10 the circumstancessurrounding the assault and the assault itsolf. She admitted that she was about two stops behind Bindon when he went/into tho room, and he did not in any way ask her to go into the room, but sho went in because ho had told her when going up the lower stairs so go with him to try and find Mr. Bloomtield. The knocking off of her hat, she •'aid, might have been accidental, and it was when sho stooped to pick it up that accused put his right arm round her waist, and committed the assault. The door was left open tho whole time, and no attempt was mado by the accused to shut it, nor any attempt mado to prevent witness from screaming, but ho squeezed her waist so tightly that she could not scream very loud, and she could not say whether her •cream was loud enough to be heard on the irst floor, but if anyone had been listening in the she thought it would have been heard, but she did not think people in their offices could have heard her. lie did not reloaso her directly she screamed, but he pulled herself away from him. Tho :ro.-s-examination of tho witness had not concluded at the one o'clock adjournment, md tho witness was again placed in tho box. There was some discussion as to the production of a plan which was not in evidence, but to which both parties agreed, md his Honor said he would admit it when it her witnesses were being examined, but this child could not possibly understand it. t'he cross-examination was then resumed, tnd she was questioned as to the evidence •die gave in the lower Court. She said here was some difference, in one instance -he said she had seen Mr. Speight come nit of a room, but if ho said ho did not :nmo out that portion of her evidence in the lower Court was incorrect, and she had iltered her statement to-day on that account. She did not remember having Altered her statement in any other respect. I'll Hie Honor: She had no idea when she went into the room with the accused that io was about to take any liberties with her. George S. Graham, who occupies ■llices on the first floor of the Governmeat Insurance Building, was called. The accused came into his office about three ,)'clock 011 the day of the alleged as sault. lie heard no noise or outcry from upstairs. W. J. Speight, examined by Mr. Williamson, said he was district ;><4ent for tho Government Insurance, and ,iad charge of the building known is the Government Insurance Buildings. I'lie tracing produced was a plan of the original design, and was perfect except in respect of a corner shown in the two upper lloors, which was cut out when the building was being erected. Witness pointed out Mr. Graham's and Mr. Bloomfield's offices on the plan. They adjoined each other, and tho rooms formerly occupied by the Official Assignee were at tho back of the building. All the rooms on this fiat, except the Official Assignee's, were occupied, and had been for some time. He remembered being on that flat a little before three o'clock 011 tho 3rd of August, and saw the accused standing in the lobby outside the Official Assignee's office and Mr. Bloomiield's office. The last witness was with him standing close to him. Witness spoke to him as he passed and went into the Official Assignee's old office, or rather prisoner spoke to him and he replied. Witness did not remain in tho room more than five minutes, and when ho came out he locked the door, but neither the accused nor tho little girl were then in the lobby. They moved away in the opposite direction when lie went into the room. Witness wont along the passage from the back to the front of the building towards Mr. Tole's office, and stopped when he reached the foot of the stairs coming from the upper flat. He then saw the girl and Bindon coming downstairs from the top storey. They were close together when he first saw them on the turn of the staircase, the girl slightly in front. He believed sho had a handkerchief in her right hand, but he could not be positive. She continued to advance, and Bindon stopped there. Witness made no remark, but instead of going to Mr. Tolo's office he turned and went downstairs, the child having by this time nearly reached the landing, and accused standing in the position where he saw him first. There was nothing in the child's appearance when he saw her first to attract attention, but when near tho bottom she , turned and looked up at., the accused. He saw 110 more of them that day. The upper storey had no tenants, although some of the rooms had been used for storage purposes, and accused had 110 business there that witness knew. Ho next saw the accused on the night of Tuesday, the 4th, at -witness' house in Hepburn-street, between . ton and eleven o'clock. Prisoner's brother-in-law was with him. Bindon was crying, and seemed in

great distress, and told witness that he had been arrested that day. The man with Bindon was not introduced, but Bindou in effect said that witness could say or knew that he was nob in the building that day at all. , Witness stopped him when ho was going l :to say more by interjecting that he should send his solicitor instead of coming himself, or " You know it is no use your talking like that, because you must know that 1 both .saw you and spoke to yob." Witness used both expressions, but could not now tell which was used first, The proposal gave him a shock, as he looked on it as an approachmenb to him to tell an untruth. Mr. Babfc3 then interfered and said Bindon was excited and a bit off his head, arid he (Batts) continued the conversation or most of it afterwards, which was simply a detail merit by witness of what he saw on that day, and they then left. Bindon, who was crying most of the time, did nob contest any of his statements. Next morning witness went with a detective (Hughes) to the top storey, to the room marked 18, which faces Queen-street, It was a room about 19 feet by 14 feet G inches. There was . nothing in the room except Venetian blinds on the window, and they were up. From the passage, if the door was fully open, one could see half the room, but if only half-open under a third of ib would be visible. The floor was covered with a thick layer of dust, and there were footmarks on it, and he distinguished two sebs of footmarks ; one set much larger than the other. The furthest of them went up to within six inches of the wall where the window was. He noticed a great peculiarity in the smaller footprint, and noxt day, after the hearing in the lower Court, he examined the shoes on the girl's feet, and ib confirmed him in the belief bhab the shoo corresponded with the impression in the room. The witness was cross-examined by Mr. Heslceth. When accused first accosted witness in the passage he asked if witness could say when Mr. Bloomfield would be in, and witness said his movements were very uncertain, and it would bo impossible to say, and as witness entered the Assignee's rooms the accused asked if ho was occupying them now, and witness replied no, that they were let. The girl was ou accused's right side, close up to him, when he asked about Mr. Bloomfield, and his tone of voice was perfectly, distinct. If tho /girl was < nob deaf sho should have heard it. Witness heard i. hing in the shape of a cry or scream or a, struggle while in the building that afternoon, and nothing attracted his attention until ho saw the child coming down the stairs, and there was nothing in her behaviour to attract attention except that she was in a place where she ougho not to be. He did nob notice hor crying, and was not perfectly clear about her having a handkerchief in her hand. The fact of Bindou stopping and allowing the girl to come on by herself led him to suspect that somethin}; was wrong. At this stage the witness's depositions in the lower Court were pub in and read by the Deputy-Registrar, and witness was cross-examined on them. In re - examination, witness said his business in going into the Official Assignee's rooms that day was that ho had let them to a tenant, and he went to examine as to what repairs were required. Room IS, in which the assault was alleged to have been committed, was in the front of the building, and on a different storey to the Official Assignee's rooms, which were at the back of the building. To His Honor : The distance from the Official Assignee's office to the foot of tho top stairs, where he saw the girl coming down, was 48 feet, and the distance from the top of the upper stairs to tho door of room 18, was 28 feet. Mary Elizabeth Aspinall, Vife of Oliver Aspinall, and mother of the girl, gave evidence as to Iter daughter coming 'home on tho 3rd of August, and making a complaint, in consequence of which she immediately communicated with the police. Detective Hughes, who arrested the prisoner, and who examined the footprints in the room in which the assault was alleged to have taken place, also gave evidence. This closed the case for the prosecution, and the Court adjourned at half-past five o'clock until ten o'clock next morning. Grand Jury.The adjourned sitting of the Grand Jury was commenced at ten o'clock, and they returned true bills in all the remaining cases on the calendar, as follows:—George Clive, larceny ; John Henry Baulf, libel; John Liddell Kelly, libel James McFarlaue, indecent assault; \Vni. Middleton, arson; Sarah Rowe, larceny and receiving; Sarah Rowo and Mary Kenny, larceny and receiving ; Sarah Rowe, illegally pawning, and Mary Kenny, illegally pawning. In answer to His Honor the foreman said the grand jury had no presentment to make. They were thanked by His Honor aud discharged. In Chambers.

Lanjoan v. Lanman.—His Honor held a short sitting in chambers, to hear an application in tho case of John Lanigan v. Pierce Lanigan, an action to recover £1426 ss, wages alloged to bo due, and which has been set down for trial at tho ensuing civil sittings. Mr. Cave, for the defendant, applied that the claim might be referred to arbitration, but Mr. Napier, for the plaintill", opposed the application. Mr. Cave explained that the parties to the action were brothers, and it would be more convenient that the action should bo referred to arbitration, as there was a counter claim of nearly an equal amount, but Mr. Napier argued that tho defendant had delayed too long before making his application, and that it was made for the purpose of further delay. His Honor said there were questions of fact to be gone into before accounts could bo taken, and therefore it was a proper case to go to a jury, Ho dismissed the summons, with costs £2 2s.

POLICE COURT.—Wednesday. [Before Dr. Giles, R.M.I Drunkenness.—Joseph Reilly, an old offendor, was fined 10s and costs, or in default 48 hours' hard labour. • Alleged Larcenies. —Joseph Welling was charged with having on the 21st August last, feloniously stolen 0110 English setter, valued at £2, tiie'property of Alfred Mason (Griffiths. The same defendant was further charged with having stolen three chisels, one oil stone, and one screw driver, the property of Edward Bumby, of Devonport. The prisoner stated that lie knew nothing of the matter. Inspector Brohatn asked that the case might be adjourned 1111till next day, inasmuch as a material witness was in attendance at the Supremo Court. Tho case was adjourned accordingly. Transferred to Sydney.—Harry Spring, 011 remand, was charged with having, at Sydney, 011 or about the Ist October, 1890, being then the bailee of two diamond rings, valued at £40, tho property of Eugene Ungerer, unlawfully and fraudulently converted the same to his own use, and thereby having feloniously stolen the same. The prisoner had been arrested some weeks ago on a provisional warrant, and remauded. Constable W. S. Chambers, of the New South Wales Police Force, produced the warrant, and identified the prisoner. Dr. Giles made an order that the prisoner should be returned to New South Wales.