BLIND MAN CRUELLY VICTIMISED

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2205, 18 July 1914, Page 6

BLIND MAN CRUELLY VICTIMISED

1 BY A JUVENILE RASCAL • ABNORMAL CRIMINALITY (Br TelflßTßßli.—Prees AflaooiatloaJ Auokland, July 17. An unkempt and rather under-sized youngster of 15 years, who came before Mr. r. V; Frazor, S.M., this morning, admitted ail offence which showed abnormal criminal development, of an .educated kind. Ho had been acting ' as' guido to a blind organ-grinder called "Pete," and had evolved a system of fraud by which he had since February last extracted from the old man, in sums ranging from £1 to £5, an amount of £20. « When this organ-grinder was in Christchurch he was robbed. of something like £600. Ho came on to Auck-1 land, bringing the lad with him as a guide, and the boy in February delight- j ed his ears with a story that he had got on to the track of the money, wbjch was reooverablo. He said that lie had got hold of two men who had gone over to Sydney with the thief, and they had informed him that the thief had died there,of blood poisoning, but prior to his death had. confessed the theft and directed that restitution should be made. The boy had said he was making inquiries with a view to recovering the money, and from tinio to time read "to the blind man letters to* support this story, and got from him money which he said was necessary for, the search. He also told "Pete" that he could obtain compensation from the Government for tile accident that had caused his blind-' uessj and that. he, had conducted proceedings to this end, writing fake' letters and drawing the jnoney-said to b>e necessary for the preliminaries. "Pete'' at one stage g;ot suspicious because someone told him that a letter he had got was in the-boy's handwriting, so the boy afterwards got the letters typed. "I have one here," said Chief Detective M'Mahon, producing a document which read: "Send me!,■ and look out. — P.—Menzies, detective." The Chief Detective explained that the "P" stood for "Pete," and "Menzies" was the mytlii*cal who was making inquiries about the blind man's lost money. The boy had gone to a typist's office and had the letter typed for 6d. "But it'is strange that anyone in a typist's office should type a letter like that for a boy," exclaimed-the Magistrate.. .: ■ • . "We are inquiring about that, said Chief Detective M'Mahon. Detective Hammond said he'knew the stock from which the boy sprang. All the lad's brothers showed similar tendencies^' Remarking on the highly-developed criminal instinct of the Tad, his Worship committed the boy to the Burnham Industrial School, and informed"- ; . him that such an offence as this; if committed by a man, would mean a sentence of fivo years in gaol.