ILL-TREATING A CHILD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6647, 11 September 1889, Page 3

ILL-TREATING A CHILD.

•♦— A Case at Lyttelton. The Case Dismissed. At the Lyttelton Besident Magistrate's Court thia morning, before E. Seetham, | Esq., 8.M., Mrs Clara Denricheli was charged on two informations with assaulting and ill-treating her step-daughter, j Ellen Demicheli. The child appeared in Court, and looked about seven years of age, and to all outward appearance well nourished and healthy. Mr H. N. Nalder appeared for the accused, while Sergeant O'Malley conducted the prosecution. Mrs A. O'Connor, living in Oxford street, next door to Mrs Demicheli : On August 29 heard her call her child Ellen in from the street. The child came in from the street, and defendant said, " Did I tell you not to go into the street|?" The child answered " Yes." Defendant then said, " Well, why did you go P " She took the child inside the house, and witness heard the child cry as if being beaten. By Mr Nalder : Had not quarrelled with Mrs Demicheli. Had been a neighbour of hers for about three months. Mrs Davies, who also lived in Oxford street, next to Mrs Demicheli : Remember August 29, and on that day heard a chili crying bitterly in Mrs Demicheli's house. 1 The child was calling out, " Oh, mother, | don't beat me." Witness called out to tUa defendant, "You wretch, you axe killing the child." Did not see the woman beating the child, and did not know what she did it with. By Mr Nalder : Was not on bad terms with Mrs Demicheli. Did not give information to the police until asked to do so. Defendant is continually beating the children. Constable P. M'Cormack said he went to Mrs Demicheli's house in company with Sergeant O'Malley, on August 30. Told her that some complaints had been made about her beating the children, and asked to see one of the children. The little girl now in Court was brought in from the back kitchen, and defendant then said she had beaten th^cbild with the strap produced. The little girl was undressed and examined, and found to be badly bruised about the body, legs and arms. The girl is a step-daughter, and her father and mother are both dead. The father was killed about twelve months ago on board the Arawa, and the woman received charitable aid to support the children upon. By Mr Nalder : The little girl also had two black eyes, and said her brother had pushed her out of bed. In reply to Sergeant O'Malley, accused admitted having beaten the child, and said that she had on two occasions stolen milk out of a tin which wa3 intended tor the baby. The child appeared to be well nourished. Dr W. G. Fitzhenry: The child was brought to witness on August 30 to be examined. She was a healthy, wellnourished child, but was severely bruised in several parts of the body. The skin around the left eye was bruised. The left arm, from the shoulder to the wrist, was bruised. The upper part of the right arm was also slightly bruised. There were several bruises over the left shoulder blade, and on the right shoulder blade there wa3 one bruise; above that one bruise, and immediately below the shoulder blade, on the right side, were several' bruises. There were also several bruises on both thighs. The strap produced would inflict the bruises if supplied with sufficient force ; but most of them would have been done with the buckie, or with a stick. Falling out of bed could not produce the bruises. By Mr Nalder : Some of the bruises might have been got by falling out of bed, the black eye for instance. The bruises on the back and on the arms were far too severe to have been caused by falling out of bed ; they were far too deep for that. To the Bench : The bruise on the lef i arm was very bad, and the others appeared to be old. The bruises would not, I think, be caused by moderate beating. The child is six and a half years old. The bruise on the arm might have been very serious. Sergeant O'Malley said those were the .acts of the case. Mr Nalder addressed the Bench at some length, and stated the facts as follow : — Accused was a widow, and was left about twelve months ago, her husband having been killed on board the Arawa. She was left with two children by the former wife of Demicheli and one of her own. The child was about seven years of age, and was almost unmanageable, was anything but truthful, and was in the habit of stealing. The whole thing was the result of neighbours' quarrelß. Mrs Kiniber, mother of the accused: Had been living with her for the past twelve months. Knew the step-children. Accused had treated them very well indeed, and had never beaten them more than moderately. The child Ellen was not to be trusted with anything, and told fearful lies, causing no end of trouble. His Worship : I do not want to interfere with your line of defence, Mr Nalder, but it does not matter to me what the child did. The question is, "Was the child treated in the manner a child of those tender years should be ?" Mr Nalder : Well, your Worship, I want to put all the facts of the case properly before yon. There ha 3 been a good deal of feeling over the ca6e, in consequence of the recent case which came before yon in Christchurch. His Worship : Very well, then. Witness continued : Was not at the house on the occasion complained of. The child was beaten, when beaten at all, by the Btrap produced. The braises on the eye and arm were caused by the girl and her brother playing, and the latter pushing his sister down. T. Mutton said accused lived in one of her houses, and, as far as he knew, treated the children well. Knew Mrs Davies j she was not in the habit of living on good, terms with her neighbours. By Sergeant O'Malley: Was not constantly at home. Mrs Demicheli, the accused, said 6he lost her husband about twelve months ago. When she married him he had two children. On August 29 had a tin of milk for the baby in the house. Was out that day, and returning home found the milk taken. Asked the girl about it. She denied having taken it at first, but afterwards admitted having taken it. Told her if such a thing happened again she would give her a beating. A few days afterwards some honey was taken in the same way, and as the girl said she had taken it, took the strap (produced) and gave her a good beating. The child was in her night-dress at the time. Gave her a good sound beating, but did not think th c bruises were the result of the beating. The child was a very troublesome one, and on other occasions ! took things out of the house, once Home ! money. Only beat the child sufficient to keep her in order. Dr Fitzhenry, to the Bench: The child had not suffered in health when he examined her, and looking at her now, would : say she had not suffered in the least. She was healthy and apparently well cared for. In giving judgment hie Worship said it was no donbt a very serious charge that had been laid against the accused, and after the recent case mentioned by Mr Nalder was likely to cause some feeling in the matter ; however, that was the place where things of that sort were taken no notice of. There was no doubt that the treating was not a moderate one ; it was a very severe one. If the child had been otherwise ill-treated and ill-used in any way it would be a very different thing. The case could be easily decided on the evidence of Dr E'itzhonry, who had said the beating was evidently not moderate, but the child had not been ill-treated otherwise. He was quite able to understand that the child was a troublesome one, but the treatment had not been ordinary for a child of such tender years, and with that caution the case would be dismissed.