SENTENCE WHEN CALLED

Taranaki Daily News, 17 February 1933, Page 9

SENTENCE WHEN CALLED

SULLIVAN PLEADS GUILTY . [' INJURY TO A WOMAN RECALLED. JUMPED OUT OF STREET WINDOW. « Pleading guilty to common assault, James Sullivan was at New Plymouth yesterday ordered by Mr. Justice Ostler to come up for sentence when called upon. “You will not be called upon so long as you leave the woman alone,” said His Honour. , The proceedings were the result qf injuries received by Veronica Kelliget at New Plymouth on November 3, when she jumped from a window on to a verandah roof on the corner of Devon and Currie Streets. Other counts in the indictment 'were: That with intent to do grievous bodily harm Sullivan had done actual bodily harm; assault causing actual bodily harm; causing actual bodily harm under such circumstances that if death had occurred he would have been guilty, of manslaughter. ... _ ; Mr. R. H. Quilliam, Crown Prosecutor, said he accepted the plea of guilty on the fourth count. On behalf of Sullivan Mr. J. H. Sheat said it must be obvious from the deposit tions and the general surrounding circumstances that the man was not a criminal. The circumstances were unfortunate, but they did not indicate any criminality. No one regretted more than Sullivan the unfortunate circumstances outof which the injury to the woman arose, . Sullivan had taken the course of admitting the minor count, and council asked, the court to take that into considerations in fixing the penalty, besides the fact that owing to his inability to find bail he hacfe spent the best part of two months to prison. His record was unblemished to anyway. : ' “I understand Miss McKelliget is fearful’ to some extent that if Sullivan is allow* ed to go free she may be in some dan* ger,” proceeded Mr. Sheat. “I can give an unqualified assurance to the court that Sullivan will seek to hold no communication whatever with her, and in the circumstances I ask that a fitting penalty should be imposed without sending hin>- . to prison.” ■ - His Honour asked Sullivan if he understood that he would be bound not tof go near Miss McKelliget. “Yes,” he answered. . ; His Honour said he agreed with coun- / cil that the court should not regard Sullivan as a criminal; Indeed, the clrcum* 5 stances showed that he had a - certain, amount of decent feeling, because immediately he realised the woman was in* jured he went to the police and gava l himself up. He had done a very fool*’ ish. act in frightening the woman as h« did, but he was -not to know that sh« would take the step of jumping out o$ the window. His Honour repeated that he did not think Sullivan was a criminal. The affair had taken a course h« S did not foresee. ” ‘ ’