The courts 15 months jail for transvestite

Press, 19 April 1979, Page 5

The courts 15 months jail for transvestite

The law did not permit such indecencies to be entered into, Mr N. L. Bradford, S.M., told a 28-year-old transvestite who appeared in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday for sentence on charges of committing an indecent act, and sodomy.

The Magistrate told Andrew Ngawhika, known as “Angel,” that both offences were serious crimes which were viewed with abhorrence by the community.

t On the charge of in- ; decently assaulting the 15- - year-old boy he sentenced I Ngawhika to 12 months jail i and on the charge of so- : domy he was sentenced to i 15 months imprisonment, the ■ terms to be concurrent. Sergeant C. J. Shannahan ■ said that in recent months 1 the complainant in the so1 domy charge, and the . defendant, had been living together and that the act of

sodomy had occurred during that period. Ngawhika, a self-confessed transvestite, had told the police that the complainant had wanted him to do it. Counsel (D. M. Palmer) said the relationship between the complainant and the defendant had been of about eight months duration. It appeared that towards the end of this period the 15-year-old had been hanging about the house where the defendant and his friend were living. It had not been a case of the defendant’s going out and actively procuring the youth, Mr Palmer submitted. Attempts had been made to deter the boy. Because of the defendant’s friendship with the 15-year-old boy Ngawhika had been stabbed by the friend who had lived with him for eight months. It was the fact of the stabbing that had led to the complaint’s being laid with the police, said Mr Palmer. I He submitted that jail would pose difficulties for his client and that this made it a difficult sentencing problem. THEFT OF BAG A handbag and its contents, valued at 8140, were snatched from a 67-year-old woman in Bealey Avenue by another woman who needed money to pay bills, the Magistrate was told. Ruth Graham, aged 22, unemployed, admitted the offence, which was committed at 12.30 p.m. on February 9. She told the police that the offence had been committed because she had been desperate. Kenneth Geffrey Sanderman Crichton, aged 22, admitted that, knowing Graham had committed the theft, he assisted her to avoid arrest.

Sergeant G. C. Jones said that at the time of the offence the complainant had been walking along Bealey Avenue and that Graham had been a passenger in a car driven by Crichton. He said Graham had got out of the car and had grabbed the handbag from the complainant, who screamed. The handbag contained $ll2 in cash, which was recovered by the complainant after Graham had dropped the. bag in the gutter when getting back into Crichtons’ car, said Sergeant Jones. He said that Crichton had told Graham to give the bag back. The two defendants were remanded, on bail to April 26 for probation reports and sentence. FRAUD OFFENCE Merryll Joy Amst, aged 17. admitted that on April 8, with intent to defraud, she used a social welfare payment order for $156 to obtain a pecuniary advantage for herself. Detective Sergeant R.

Powell said the defendant had received her benefit, but had later obtained a duplicate order by claiming she had not received the original order. Amst was convicted and remanded to April 26 for a probation report and sentence. She was allowed bail of $5OO. STOLE PETROL Peter Arthur Bourke, aged 20, a painter, was convicted and fined $175 for stealing three gallons of petrol from a parked car on Saturday. Bourke admitted the offence. Sergeant JOnes said that at 4.20 a.m. on Saturday the police were told the occupants of a white car were siphoning petrol out of a car parked in Bealey Avenue. Soon afterwards a car was stopped by the police in Bealey Avenue. Three 4.5litre cans were found in the boot. Two were full and a third was almost empty. The petrol gauge on the car showed that its tank was half full.

The occupants in the car smelled of petrol. Bourke could not explain how the petrol cans came to be in his vehicle. Later, at the police station, he said he had earlier poured a can full of petrol into his car which had nearly run dry. He said he had not siphoned the petrol, but knew who had.

Counsel (Mr N. C. Chapman) said the defendant and the other occupants of the car had earlier been drinking. The car had been low on petrol and there had been no way of obtaining it legally. In addition to the fine, Bourke, whom the Magistrate said had a long list of offending, was ordered to pay $1.45 as his share of the compensation sought. A co-offender, Eric William Zwarst, aged 20, unemployed when apprehended, was said to have admitted the offence saying: “Oh well, it’s only a fine anyway.” He was convicted and remanded in custody to April 27 for a probation report and sentence. DEFERRED SENTENCE A woman, aged 43, who last week admitted assaulting a social worker at the Bishopdale Community Centre, was given a deferred sentence of 12 months. The woman, who was granted final suppression of her name, was also ordered to undertake psychiatric treatment. Last week she admitted that she had assaulted the man and had thrown a jar of cosmetic and a knife at the complainant because he was “a home breaker.” Counsel (Mr R. J. Murfitt) said the incident had come about as a release from the great strain his client had been under at the time.

BURGLARY ADMITTED An unemployed youth was remanded in custody after being convicted on a charge of burglary involving goods worth $2OOO. David John Nevitt, aged 19, admitted breaking into a house in Heywood Terrace on April 5 from which stereo equipment and $196 in cash and a canary in a cage were stolen. Detective Sergeant Powell said only the canary in its cage had been recovered. Compensation of $559. as the defendant’s share of the unrecovered property, was sought. Although there were cooffenders the defendant had declined to name them, said Sergeant Powell. In that case the defendant should bear the full cost of the compensation sought, said the Magistrate. Nevitt was convicted and remanded to April 24 for a probation report and sentence. DRUG CHARGES Two American servicemen facing drug charges were further remanded without plea to April 26. Ronald Owen Carr, aged 22, is charged with cultivating cannabis; possessing cannabis; and with selling cannabis. The alleged offences were committed between February and April this year. He was allowed bail of $l3OO. Andrew Richard Lust, aged 26. is charged with having cannabis in his possession; and with selling cannabis. These alleged offences were also committed between February and April. Lust was allowed bail of $BOO. Counsel (Mr L. Hinton) said pleas would be entered next week.