SUPREME COURT

Taranaki Daily News, 26 November 1926, Page 5

SUPREME COURT

N-EW PLYMOUTH SESSION. INDECENT EXPOSURE CHARGES. The Supreme Court at New Plymouth yesterday was occupied most of the day with the hearing of five charges of wilful indecent exposure against a young man, Milton Luke Ashby. It is alleged that the accused on several occasions during August and September committed offences alongside the window of a room in the house in which he boarded in Buller Street, New Plymouth. The. accused, who is represented by Mr. C. H. Croker, pleaded not guilty to the charges. The following jury, was empanelled:—G. R. White (foreman), A. Twine, W. Sampson, C. C. Stapleton, J. W. Darby, H. L. Lander, S. H. Phipps, W. Bent, R. Sinclair, F. Morris, A. Evans and T. P. Rielly. On the application of the Crown Prosecutor, the court was cleared during the hearing. Early in the hearing, Mr. Croker intimated that the accused had allowed himself to be seen through the window from the street, but wilful exposure would be denied, and to support this, strong evidence would be brought. Evidence was given by several little girls and four adult women as to the conduct of accused on August 20, August 29, September 1, and September 19, when they had passed along the street faced by the house in which the accused boarded and had seen him. For the defence, Mr. Croker submitted that the accused was entirely innocent of the evil habits suggested by the nature of the charges. Strong medical evidence would be brought to show that he was not addicted to the practices referred to. The position was that he had caught a complaint sometime shortly after July 15, the genuineness of which there was no doubt as the medical evidence would show. The complaint required treatment, and it was through exposing himself when undergoing this treatment that accused was, through his own negligence certainly, seen by girls and women passing along the street. The exposure was not in any way a wilful one, however. Several well known and respected citizens of New Plymouth would be called for the defence to testify to the good character of the accused, and they would say that they were quite willing to allow him to associate with the girls and other members of their own families. Accused gave evidence bearing out the submissions of his counsel, stating that he had been engaged for some time to a girl in New Plymouth, and was still engaged to her. The treatment necessary for his complaint was the fairly frequent application of mercuric iodide in the form of soap and the application of phenol (carbolic). His examination in chief had cot been completed when the court adjourned until 10 o’clock this morning. OTHER CASES. Two prisoners appeared for sentence yesterday morning. For forgery and detaining a postal packet, Charles William Hall was admitted to probation for a term of 12 months, and for forgery and uttering a valueless cheque at Patea, Henry Ernest Ferguson Samuel Lee was admitted to probation for a period of two years. The trial of Joseph Signal on a charge of theft at Patea was concluded yesterday morning, and after a short retirement the jury returned a verdict of not guilty, the accused being accordingly discharged.