Publicity Seen As Warning To Girls

Chronicle (Levin), 17 August 1949, Page 6

Publicity Seen As Warning To Girls

MASTERTON, -August 10. --- The hearing- of a charge of commit-" ting rape at Alasterton on July lb, against Albert Beveridge Beauchamp, a soldier of Fort Dorset, Wellington, concluded late last night. At the beginning of the case an order had been made by the Justices to exelude the -Press from the hearing. ' Deteetive Sergeant Gordon said a Supreme Court- Judge m a reeent ease in Napier,, had made some remarks which' applied in the ..present case,, * The Juclge ha'd said that the evid'ence served as a warning to girls. as .to what 'was possible. The Judge had said publicatioR, of the f'acts vvouicl. do niore go.od than harm, DetectiveSergeant Gordon. said he did not wisn to interfere with ihe Court 's ruling but .he-.thought jattqntion skouid be di'awn to the Judge 's. remarks. Mr. D. W. Foster, who. represented Beauchamp said the only authority for such an order as was proposed by tiie Court, was nnder s.ection 143 of the Justices of the Peac.e Act. That section gave the Court discretionary power to make an order only if it appearecl that the ends of. justice required it. Mr. Foster said he .was at a loss to understand how the Justices could come to s.uch a decision, The Press should not be excluded.and the matter should be left to its diseretion. ' . Mr. Saunders said that in view of t-he unanimity of qpunsel and the prosecution in the matter, the Court had agreed to waive the matter and woula allow the Press to rehiain. The evidence and subsequent crossexamination of ehief police witness, a girl of 17, was that aecused had sat beside her on a railcar journey from W eilington to Carterton. He had helped her ofE with her luggage and then teiephoned her later in the afternoon to invite her to go to Alasterton and baca by car so that accused could collect a suit ease from the railway station. Un the way to Masterton some beer was bought .and mere was-- consumed at the Alarist Football Club room. After coilectiiig the suitrqase; from the- station, accused drove'thAgiil but into the country, saying it a short cut to Carterton. Despite ' the, , girl 's protests he refused to take her home, turned the car around, parked it and told the girl to do as he said or to walk home. According to the girl, accused pushed her out of the car on to the grass, threatened her with a bottle and raped her. He later drove the girl to his motlier 's home in Carterton, took her to a bedroom, raped her again and then got her a cup of tea. Accused and the girl went back to the girl's home by taxi at 11 p.m. When accused was interviewed later he was.given an injection to quieten I him and he spent the rest of the night ! nnder observation at Croydon Hospitai. Earlier accused had given the girl to understand that he had been in Porirua. Beauchamp was committed to the Supreme Court, Wellington, for trial. Bail in £200 self and £200 surety was granted. f' ' ' ' The man is a nie'nace and while he is about, women and girls are not saf e, ' ' said Dctective-Sergfeant' Gordon in oppoSing a reducti'onvm )bail asked for by counsel. There were .. two oth'er "inquiries being made about Beauchamp.