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THE CBUtITNAL oilKL,
ALLEGED ASSAULT ON A CHILD.
in the Criminal Court on Tuesday, he
fore his Honor Mr. Justice Buchanan,
Cecil Banks, aged 19 Years, was charged
with having indecently assaulted Stella
Gunther, aged 5 years 10 months', and
also having beaten, wounded, and ill
treated her at Kapunda, on October 7.
Mr. H. A. Shierlaw appeared for the prosecution,
and Mr. Angas Parsons, MP..
for the defendant, who pleaded not
gamy. * "
Mr. Shierlaw asked his Honor to order
that the court be cleared. He thought
that course was desirable in view of the
nature of the case. His
Honor said he had read the depositions,
and he did not think the circumstances
were such as to require the court r
to be cleared at that stage.
When the little girl was called she
burst into tears, and although his Honor
tried to pacify her, she continued to cry. His
Honor then said, as the, presence
of the public in court tended, to
increase the child's nervousness, he would
order those not directly interested in the
case to leave the court. -I -
His Honor sat the child upon his knee,
and under the influence of his gentle
treatment she quickly became reconciled'
to the strangeness of her surroundings'
and gave her evidence fairly fluently. The
child sat contentedly on the knee of the
judge, and the examining recesses stood
on the bench near her. The
evidence of the child was to the
effect that on the morning in question
about 8 o'clock she was sent by her
mother to get milk from the house of a
neighbor (Mr. Charles Coles), who lived
a few minutes' walk away from her.
mother's place. She was accompanied by
her sister, Ivy, aged 2 years. On her return
the accused met her at the stables
at Mr. Cole's' place, and took her into
his room. He held her down' on his bed,
where the offence was" committed. Her
clothes were torn, and the fTnffpil hurt,
her very much. . -
Annie Bertha Gunther, mother of
Stella Gunther, stated that for three or
four weeks previous to the day of the
alleged offence her daughter had been in
the habit of going to Mr. Coles' place for
the milk. She was usually away for five
or six minutes only, but on the occasion
in question she was absent for over half
an hour. The witness sent Gustav.
Trinnie, a neighbor's boy, in search of
her. daughter, put he failed to find her.
Then she went-with Gustav to Mr, Coles' -
stables, and saw Stella coming out of the
boy's room and crying very bitterly, of She
took her child to Mrs. Trinnie's place,
and found that one of her undergarments.
which was in good order when the child
was dressed that morning, was torn.
The child was crying so hard at first, that
she was unable to say what occurred. They
walked as far as Mrs. Trinnie's , place,""
where the child made her complaint.
By Mr. Parsons As the result of questions
put to the child at Mrs. Trinnie's
place. the witness obtained further infor-"
mation as to what happened.
When the witness saw her children coming
out of the stable Gus Trinnie was not
with them, but was with the witness.
Although she was much worried at the
time, she had a clear recollection of what
occurred. When she first saw Stella cry-
ing the witness was not suspicious.
Owen James KeneDy, laborer of Kapunda,
stated that prior to the Police
Court trial at Kapunda the accused said
"Tram in a bit of trouble. Will ron, coote
as a witness?" The witness at that time
did not know anything about the accused's
trouble. By
Mr. Parsons-The accused's father
had spoken to the witness about the
police calling. The witness saw the two
little girls and Gus Trinnie outside of
Mr. Coles' gate, but he did not speak to
them. The accused, whom he knew we,
had been employed by Mr. D. James,
M.P., and by Mr. Cole. The lad was
kind to animals and a useful, decent sort
of young fellow.
Mounted-Constable Feehan, who arrested
the accused, said he told him the charge,
and the accused denied having committed
the offence. He said. "The dog barked
at her, and she became frightened, and
cried. I gave her a mouth organ to keep
her quiet, and she went home." - The
witness said to him he had heard that the
girl's mother had had to fetch her home,
and that she said she had seen her coming
out of the accused's room. "The ac-
cused replied, "She did nothing of the kind."
I have a witness to prove it."
The accused made a statement, in which,
he said 'he had not assaulted the, girl
She became frightened at the dog and fee
gave her a mouth organ to quieten her.
Mrs. J. L. M. Craft said she saw Stella,
Ivy, and a boy named Trinney going towards
«MW-Gnniber/s house, when the
girl's mother met them, and accompanied
them back to Trinney's place, and then
to Mr. Coles place. Mr. Coles had some
dogs, and Mrs. Gunther had told the wh>
ness that Stella was afraid to go there on
account of the dogs. ?. , ? .
Lydia Olga Craft, daughter of the previous
?< witness, corroborated the evidence
he had given. ' After a
short retirement the jury found.
the accused guilty. - v- - ".
Mr. Parsons said he was unable to call
Mr. Coles, as he was away in the country.
He had a number of testimonials
from well-known residents of 'Kapunda.;
which went to show that the accused had,
borne a good character up to the time of
the present charge. He said the "lad was
practically the sole support of his widowed
mother, and he asked that his Honor
would apply to him the provisions of the
First Offender? Act, or otherwise release
farm under the common law provisions to
come up for sentence when called on to
do so. I
His Honor said the case was a very pain-
full one. The accused had borne a good
character until the time he committed the
offence of which he had been convicted.,
Little girls, i however, must be protected,
and he felt that he could not accede to Mr.
Parsons' request to apply the provisions of
the First Offenders Act to the case, . nor
could he, in the circumstances, see his
way to release the accused under the common
law provisions. He would, however,
in the hope that he would endeavor
to live down such a serious blot on his
character, pass the comparatively light sentence
of six months' imprisonment with
hard labor.
was S ?
POLICE ON THE TORRENS LAKE.
To the Editor! -
Sir-Some two years ago, after considerable
agitation, the Commissioner of Police
(Mr. W. H. Raymond), the town clerk
(Mr. T. G. Ellery), and several others
visited the Torrens, and selected a site
on which to erect an up-to-date police-station
The ground was pegged out, and
the City council. generously presented the
land to the Police Department free of all
cost, as they recognised the need of such
a convenience. The sum of £1,400 was
placed on the Estimates for erection
of the building, but up to date that is
all that has been done. The whole business
is a sad reflection, but no one cares
to shoulder the responsibility for the delay.
Then the telephone, which was a
private one used by the police for years
free of charge to the department, has been
removed and the nearest one is at the
barracks, a quarter of a mile away. When
another drowning accident occurs I suppose
i those interested will wake up" to their
1 responsibility. The whole business is a
standing disgrace, and should have immediate
attention. Parliament will be pro
legging in another month; and it is to be
hoped that something will be done. before
then. On fine nights some 80 boats are
afloat laden with passengers going up and
down the lake, and not 10 per cent of those
who row understand a bit about rowing.
It is not, an uncommon occurrence to see
a dozen boats all tangled up owing to the
proper side of the river not being kept.
They rush all over the place like a lot of
sheep regardless of consequences. The
matter should receive prompt attention, as
it is one not to be trifled with.
-I amid
ice, is
ANTE UP.
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