SENTENCE PASSED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22954, 4 February 1938, Page 14

SENTENCE PASSED

SERIOUS OFFENCES TERM OF THREE YEARS Two men who had pleaded guilty on Tuesday to offences were sentenced by Mr. Justice Fair at the Supreme Court yesterday. The Crown Prosecutor, Mr. V. R. Meredith, represented .the Crown. A waterside worker, Edward James Young, had admitted a charge of unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl 14 years of age. On his behalf Mr. Aekins said- the prisoner was a widower 51 years of ago, with three grown-up sons. He had first met the girl two years ago and they became fond of each other. He had paid her confinement expenses and intended to see that her child was provided for. His Honor said that although the prisoner had pleaded guilty to one offence only, committed in December, 1936, the depositions showed that the guilty relations had continued for a period of over 18 months. He had apparently totally disregarded the grave harm he was inflicting. He would be sentenced to three years' imprisonment with hard labour. | * "It seems that drinK is the sole cause of his lapse," said Mr. Aekins, appearing on behalf of Edgar Beech Jones, who had pleaded guilty to a charge of indecently assaulting a boy. He said that Jones was a single man. 30 years of age, who had been for 16 months on sustenance. He had been drinking and had no recollection whatever of the incident to which he had pleaded guilty. He had been in custody since October 14. His Honor said this was not one of kho worst cases of its type, but it was quite clear that children must bo protected from theije offences, which unfortunately seemed recently to have increased in number. Taking all the circumstances into consideration, he would impose a sentence of nine months' reformative detention.