Unblushing Confessions of Fifteen-year old Flapers ESCAPADE OF PRETTY ESCAPEES

NZ Truth, Issue 1179, 5 July 1928, Page 1

Unblushing Confessions of Fifteen-year old Flapers

ESCAPADE OF PRETTY ESCAPEES

___ o __ — Girls' Sudden Disappearance Erom State Institution Has Sensational Sequel In Police Court SERIOUS CHARGES AGAINST pLEVEN YOUNG MEN IIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIHIIIIIIMIIMMIIIIIIIIIiniIIHIIIIIIiniIIIIHItIIIWIIIIIMIIIHIItIIHIIIIIIHIMIIIIIIIHI'MiIIIIIiIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIMMIH [!|'= v jjjjjjiiijiijtjjiJjiJiiiajiijjtjjiJtijjjjiJtjijrjiiijj,iiitiijiJtijnjiiijiiijiijjijjiMjiijiii,iiijijjiihjiJiJiiiiJij>utititiji.tititiiitiihitiMifii>tJt(iiJifii =E (From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Christchurch Representative.) || If FOR- TWO WHOLE DAYS last week Magistrate Lawry, °f Christchurch, heard evidence against a number of fj !! young men m one of the most apiazing cases of its faind that has ever come before the court. |j ff The tu)o principal figures m; this astounding human drama were girls, both under the age of 1 6, against whom eight (| ll young men were alleged to have committed serious off ences Awhile six of those accused and three others were also charged jj If with harboring escapees from a State institution, the girls at the time of the alleged ounces being inmates of the girls.' lj fl home at Burwood. s f jj II , „.,.. „„„„„„,„„„iimmii, mimnmmiiim "' """"" iiiiiiiiiiiiiimimiiiimmmmiiii i iiiiiiil mini i n mum iimimiiimiiiiimimi fiilimii mmm lliimimilliinim milimimmmim miiiiiiiiiiiiimimimimimimiiimiiimiiimim inml-',i)liumiiui]iiiiiiimii>^ | S Mini iiiiiiiiiiiiiliiii " ' *JJJ JJ, J JJ, J ,11 J ", J , J , , , ,U i " t ! 1 1 1 3 "• " • 1 1 " • i>•■< •<" > • mimmmimimimi i imiiimmimimiinmimiiimmim mimnimimi iiiiiimimimim miiimimimiiiiimimiiiim imimiimimimimimm urn mimiiiiuuum mmm mmm urn imiim nnmiuumium i imu£i|ummt mnmiiim.'

THE more sqrious charge against one of the young men was dismissed; the others similarly charged, pleading not guilty, were committed to tne Supreme Court for trial. The harboring charges, against all the young men concerned were held over until after' the trials are disposed bf. , , The story, as told to the court by the two girls, branded them as wantons, who, if what they alleged is true, are a moral menace to every young man who chances to meet them.Fortunately— for themselves — the girls are no longer dscapees, the ringleader having been transferred to tne reformatory at Pt. Haiswell. TheTirai legations were denied by S/isH!J§>^^ T ,} To what'^extent' they were "connected with the saturnalia^ of animal passion run wild will be ?for juries to determine. , ■■ The names of those against whom charges of offences against girls under the- age of 1G were preferred are: Victor Robert . Biackburn (four counts), George Boloski (one count), Ernest Crozier (one count), James Hannen (three counts), George Quaid (one count), Maurice Victor Rossiter (two counts), Charles ' Timothy Rogai (four counts), Frederick James Fox Sullivan (one count). ' Each of the above accused, except Rossiter ' and Sullivan, were also charged with harboring escapees. Charges of harboring only were preferred -against Albert Crozier, Francis Arthur Partridge and Alfred Langiey Phillip Gibbens. Girls' Allegations When the case opened,- the magistate intimated that, m view of the nature of -'the evidence . to be adduced, he proposed clearing the court. Chief- detective J. Carroll then briefly outlined* the circumstances. There were three girls involved, he said, but the serious charges only applied to two bf them, the other girl being over the age of 16. One of the girls principally concerned had escaped from the Burwood Girls' Home on two occasions, once m January and again the following month. What was alleged, said the chiefdetective, was that the girls, tif ter their escape from the institution, were interfered with by the young men charged with the serious offences; and that, m addition, they had been harbored as well. At this stage the question of the publication of the girls' names was raised, the magistrate intimating that he would not prohibit the publication of the evidence, as it 'was desirable the public at large should know that if they harbored escapees from State institutions they committed a criminal offence. He would, however, order that the names of the girls should not be published. Lawyer Frank Sargent, who appeared for Blackburn, remarked that the girls had little honor left, considering the circumstances. The cases against the accused charged with the more serious offence were taken separately. For two days the v girls concerned maintained .a steady procession to and from the witness-box. The- bulk of the evidence they gave was unfit for publication.

Self-possessed and indifferent to what was ..going on, they told their stories — during which they displayed no shame, or The. evidence m each case, with slight variations as to details and places, was the same. The first girl to give, evidence was the ringleader m the escapes; she who had defied authority on 'two occasions within a month. - Tall for her age, . she looked m ap-

another girl, she escaped, leaving the home about 9 p.m. "Having made good their get-away without being observed, they proceeded m the direction of Brighton. While on the road, she alleged, they met Blackburn and stopped to talk to him. ' "The other girl asked , him the way to town," said witness. "We remained on the road talking to<liim for ii while,

; pearance to -be at '' - -:■ ' ■"'" ■ when another young least seventeen. ' fellow came along s There was about j-j 7 > T~' • 7 n a trap." her hone of the un- rStlOnlfMl h.tSI^CluP Asked who the. ! sophisticated man- x^/t^/<tv/« Js/Jiouu.^ Qther . young ■ ,pa*ri nerisms of the child ' ; ■ ■ ' T ! ':. '':■. '.'"'■'. ' '■■ was, the girl replied she actually is'n.7. : „; „-■.-; ■ .■,■.-■■:....:"-,' ,-*V'a*;\- .;•:'.. that he wasTPart-

. As/ she . jtold^fTher- ,depn^t^ ; .i^.*sv^s.' 7 #ifl3^t^£Kini£&^ : really Tuhderistood l '£he' n^ureT' of : \ ; tneT 1 things of which' she spoke. ' : She commenced by telling the court, when giving evidence against Biackl burn, the first accused to be called, • that she was 15 m April last. During January and February of this year,, she was an inmate of the girls' > home at Burwood. • I On January 8, m company with j iiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiii

:Tj dg^&f tor go'rne : 'further conversation, T/jhe' :; )^l<Sf§Vi.7 '$h#t/TtheyT 'ally*?) !MJ^ed7;iJ?3:p; the" trap and drove, away,, 'butT^heTuid hot know the rohd'. The night was spent by the two girls m a shed. They later met Blackburn, she said, by arrangement. She told of acts of immorality which w r ere alleged to have taken, place. The . second girl, much younger m appearance than her companion, told what she knew about it ail. She had escaped m February with iiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

the other girl and told the' court that they went to Gibben's place, .where acts of impropriety, she said, took place between herseif and Gibbens and Blackburn. Both girls described m detail what had allegedly transpired during their stay there, but the second girl maintained that Blackburn knew the other griTi was an escapee from the home. : After a brief stay at Gibbens' house, the girls said they left and went over to -Marshlands, where they were flnail-y arrested. To Detective -sergeant O'Brien, whe had charge of the investigations Blackburn made a statement,, m whicli he admitted having met the two girls: oh .the,. first occasion, - when they told thiimthey^lm 'haxl.7h^';lugg£!&TaiidT^ T 7 While they; TWere '&il<iri^ /Partridge came along and they told him the* saint story.. The girls asked the young men if they knew where they could spend the night, so they took them to a shed, but no impropriety whatever occurred there. Boloski was charged m connectior with the second escape of the girls. The first girl told the court that after leaving Gibbens' place, she and hei companion met Boloski and two other young men, one of whom had a motorcycle and side-car. Boloski. she said, went away on his motor-cycle. So far as she knew, he went to the Bower Hotel to "get. some drink." He returned later with liquor and she drank some. It was wine she had. Charge Dismissed But' when she was questioned about her relations with Boloski, the girl said she had not misconducted herself with him. "The only man I was with that night was Em.. Crozier, but no one else.''. • ••,■■'*.' She then Avent oh to relate what subsequently transpired. "After I left Crozier, we all went to Cook's' Lane, except Boloski. . "We were only m the lane for a briei period and then we went down .to Hannan's. place," Chief-detective Carroll: Did you not misconduct yourself with Boloski? — No ( I did not do so at any time. After a brief consultation *with tho bench, the chief -detective remarked that m view of what the girl had said, he would, offer no further evidenco against Boloski. The charge against him was therefore dismissed. Ernest Crozier, with whom the girl said she had committed . misconduct, made a statement to Detective-ser-geant O'Brien, but the latter gave evidence that he had refused to sign it. Evidence was given by the girls against the other men charged. Witli certain variations, it was the same story they told. There was no evidence whatever that the girls had been unwilling victims, if the police, allegations against the y.oung men are true. Neither of the two escapees were at all hesitant m giving i,hciv version of /.he various meetings. - It was a sorry recital of unblushing depravity that would have made a woman of the world' hide her head m shame. All the accused pleaded not guilty, reserved their defence and were committed for trial, bail being- allow-ed m each case.