SUPREME COURT

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2305, 12 November 1914, Page 9

SUPREME COURT

INSURANCE MANAGER IN THE DOCK Throughout yesterday His Honour Mr Justice Hoskmg was occupied in tho Supremo Court with the hearing of a serious charge against Heibert Charles Stoddart, an insurance manager, of Wellington It was alleged against Stoddart that on October 21 he wilfully oxposed himself-in a house (ISo 36) at M'Donald Crescent, intending thereby to insult or offend certain females Mr. P. S K. Macassey, of the Crown Law Office, conducted the prosdcution, while Mr. T M Wilford appealed for the accused, who pleaded noii guilty. •

His Honour ordered the court to be cleared during the hearing of the case. For tho prosecution, three fomalo witnesses ga\e evidence as to seeing a man misbehaving himself in the empty houso (No 3d) at M'Donald Crescent on the morning of /October 21, from about 20 minutes past 11 o'clock until after half-past 11 o'clock. Two of the witnesses./were not positive as to the identity of the offender, but the third expressed herself as* certain that accused was the man, while Detective Cameron gave evidence ,as to going to M'Donald Orescent in response to a telephone message at about 11 35 am on tho day in question, and observing the accused come down the steps from the house a few minutes later. On the oc? casion of his arrest, accused had denied tho charge made against him.

Ilia defence was an alibi, Mr Wilford calling tie' accused and two other witnesses to prove that Stoddart, though at the house in M'Donald Crescent on the morning m question, could not have been there before about 11.30 a.m., and then had timo only sufficient to make a rapid inspection of the house for the purposes of insurance. Accused himself denied the offence on oath, saying that he visited the houso for the purposo of inspecting it with regard to insurance. Heimade the uiapectnon, but did nothing more or less The jury retirod ]ust before 6pm, l emd returned four hours later, when the foreman announced that a verdict could not be agreed upon His Honour discharged the jury and ordered a new trial for nest week.