LINTON'S LITTLE LARK.

NZ Truth, Issue 98, 4 May 1907, Page 6

LINTON'S LITTLE LARK.

i » . MUSHROOMING ON KOROKORO HILLS.

A Charge of Indecent Assault.

Convicted of Common Assault and Discharged.

. Samuel Linton, an old age pensioner of 66 years found himself m serious trouble at the Petone Po- \ lice Court last Wednesday when a charge of indecently assaulting a ■little girl of 1-1, named Dorothy Green, was preferred against him, but of which he was acquitted, owing to the lack of corroborated evidence, though he was .convicted and discharged of a technical assault which he admitted, viz of kissing the child. .. Linton, of course, strongly denied the charge preferred against him' and Mr Wilford defended him. Mr Kirkcaldie prosecuted. The story, is tha-t the girl with two others about her own, age, and named McF a rlane and • Monk, were out on Good Friday last, mushrooming m , the Korokoro Hills. They went up the d6main and met old Linton and asked him where they were any mushrooms to be procured. Moreover, they all expressed |a desire to see $ skeleton which their school-teacher had said they should see, anid<i Linton took them to view the skeleton, of a horse. • On the way, the other two girly got, ahead, Dorothy and Lin-tcn brinring up ,m the rear. The girl, it seems slipped over and knocked her wind out, anyhow the allegation were that while tie girls were ahead and hidden by a bit of bush, old man Linton put his arms around her neck, interfered with her clothing and made a very rude remark, to her. She pulled, herself away from him and went] and joined the other girls, and Liuton conducted them to the boundary fence and subsequently she got back to Petone. The old man's story was that the girl fell down, and he picked her up and kissed her. H,c denied the other allegations a nd the Bench (Dr McArthur and Mr Mothes J.P.) held that as 1 there was no corroboration; of the girl's story it was not advisable to send him up for trial, though- they held an assault was commifttied with the result stated.