SHE FAINTED ON ARRIVING HOME

NZ Truth, Issue 1192, 4 October 1928, Page 7

SHE FAINTED ON ARRIVING HOME

Tearful Flapper Complains of Assault In Lonely Lane After Visiting Cinema

"SAY NOTHING OR YOU'LL HAVE ME PINCHED!"

, ,„„„,„. , „„„„.. .„„.. ..iiiinmmnii.mmiiimii imiiimiumiiiiu minimum iillliuiliiiiuli iitiiiiiillliillllilliilillilillllllll itiiiirmiiim « i ' iiiiiiiiitmiiiiiii uu .ititMiiiiiiniiiiiiiiii.il iiimiiiiiimimimiiiiiiiiiiiimimmH.iimiiiiimimiiimmiiiMiiiMiiiimimiimim Slim!.^ iiniiiiiiimimmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMimiiiiiiiiiii.mitiiimiiiiiiii iimiiiiiumimi iimiimiiimiiiiiMiiiimiiiiiiimmiiii.miin mitiiimiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiimi.iiimiiiimiiii , , uiiimimimui.mmiiig | ff (From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Auckland Representative.) . || H SHE IS FAIR TO LOOK UPON— and is just fifteen. The pretty face, alluring under the shade of a|| II wide-brimmed hat, attracted glances of approval , froni the young man. There followed an adventure .. . |1 !! But did she arch, her eyebrows and employ subtly all the charm of her sex when on conquest bent, m || 11 order to lure the young gallant — or was he so intoxicated with thoughts of her that he dared all to win her j| |l favors, and, m the winning, forced unwelcome attentions upon her which led to a serious criminal charge being || !i preferred against him ? > H A jury will be asked to unravel the facts of the strange meeting between the girl and the youth, Gordon || fl Roy Capel, aged 17, who now awaits trial on a grave charge. 1! I^KIES ' imiimiviimiiiiiiiiiiiiimmiiiiiiiimmiimii iiiiiiiii i .iiiiimiiiiiiimiimmiimmuiiimimiiiimmniiiiimiu mmuimmmititiiiiiiiim-ir

FROM what the girl told Magistrate Hunt last Week, her adventure with Capel was of a, terrifying nature. She returned to the home of her aunt dishevelled and greatly upsetso much so, it was alleged,-, that she collapsed m a faint when she entered the house, after sobbing out the^ words: "Some man has assaulted me." The police were later, informed and Capel finally found himself m serious trouble. , He pleaded not guilty . and was remanded to the Supreme Court for trial. The story of this romantic adventure moved to its climax on the night of September 16. Early in -the evening, the girl's aunt saw her go out to attend the Arcadia, picture house." , Bright and cheerful, the joy of living coursing like new wine through her youthful frame^she went off to enjoy herself, but she was to find that Life has many ; unpleasant surprises m store for the unwary and unsophisticated. Whatever happened on that fateful night is very much m dispute at present, but on the statement of Capel himself, he admits having met the" girl. And thereby hangs this tale. . As she stepped into the witness-box of the Auckland Magistrate's Court, the young flapper cut a smart little figure, attir.ed m a black sateen coat relieved by a white fur collar. .' Her hair was completely hidden by a dark - colored, wide - brimmed hat, Whispered Reply which shaded her face to such an' extent that the S.M. requested her to remove it. Her demeanor m: the box was calm and undisturbed, but at times she faltered m replying to. questions and her voice was lowered. .to -a whisper. Hpw- ' ever, she told a coherent and connect- ,j ed story. ■ ' .. • She informed the .court 'at the outset J that she was an orphan and would be sixteen m March next. . She looked no more than her years "i and at times her large, wide-open eyes glanced apprehensively round the) court. ' ; When she came to the events of the night of the alleged assault, she was hesitant at first, but gradually regained her composure. She spoke quietly,, yet firmly. "I -went with some friends to the Arcadia pictures," she said m reply to Chief-detective Hammond. ."We came out of the pictures at about twenty minutes pust ten and walked along Karangahape Road. '•' "At the top "of East Street I stood talking with my friends for about ten minutes. "Whpn I left them I walked back along the way I had come and I saw CapeUcoming towards me." The girl paused for a moment as she recalled to her mind the sequence of events. "When I saw him," she went on, somewhat- falteringly, "I went behind the island showcases at the Bon Marche." From behind this vantage point, she Promise Not Kept watched the young man. "When he passed," she continued, "I walked along towards the Post .Office. "I went into a shop, then came back and went down West Street. Capel was down the street and he spoke to me." From what the girl had to say, Capel's greeting was. not m the best style of juvenile sheiks. "Why did you not meet me on Sunday night as you promised?" was his demand, said the flapper. But the object of Capel's inquiry apparently has definite scruples on the subject of Sabbath observance. Oh, no, sfre did not go out on Sundays, was her reply. Capel, she informed the court, then asked her to "go up a lane." "I refused, saying that I had to be home early. It was then about halfpast ten." ' If the girl is to be believed, Capel was accepting no excuses. Dropping persuasive argument, he resorted to ,cave-man tactics, she alleged. The girl raised herself up m the witness-box and then unburdened herself of her real tale of woe. "He caught hold of me and pulled me into the lane . . . and asked me a question." As she spoke, there was no display of emotion. She seemed to have no other tone of voice than a monotonous, low-pitched key which was devoid of all expression. The magistrate: How far up the lane did you go?— About half-way. The chief -detective: What did you say to him?— -I refused him and he asked me again. The girl went on to say that Capel repeated the question, which she again HlllllllllllllllHllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

answered In a very definite negative. "He then pushed me down on the roadway;" she complained. ....-- Chief . - detective Hammond asked her. „ what. the ground, was like. "Stony— and there were . patches •• df grass," was the re,The girl then gave . details of what allegedly hap- . pened afterwards, describing the damage caused to her clothing, which, she • asserted, had been torn. The chief-detec-tive: Did you call out . to him to let you go?— Yes. We re there people living m the vicinity? — Yes. The bench: "Had you called out loudly, would people have heard

chief- detective held up the girl's hat, coat and underclothing which she was supposed to have been wearing on the night of the alleged offence. The coat ' was spattered with^mud down the back, while certain clothes appeared to •have been torn. Once more the girl's attention was directed to Capel. The chief-deteotive asked how long she had known him. "Have you ever been out with him before?" "No," came the emphatic reply from the witnessbox. Are you m the of letting young boys misconduct themselves with you?— No. Severe though her ordeal m the box

you?" The girl admitted that they naa oeen, tne girl naa sua to race would. ■ cross-examination at the hands of Capel's conduct was referred, to m Lawyer Allan Moody, anything but complime jntary t Jnia-by Counae| . Y ou go to the pictures the flapper as she continued her story. . „ « V Not only did he try to commit mis- a good bit, dont you.— l someconduct with her, she declared, but he times go with my girl friends. "-t m^t Un o^^nmn_r hi ou_ W 1 e 'tried to Do you know Walter Powell-No! "I kept on c all W out - I tried to haye f^LT^^ S ' * seen "fooling" with him m the picthen let me up. turps'— No By this time; from . all . accounts, lu "> s • 1 ■ ' ■ • ___.- . T Capel seemed to think that— in pur- Do you know Hagen and Oliver?— l suance of cave-man tactics-rhe had have not been out with them. treated the girl a little too roughly. You have been knocking about with ■ ■-..■ . . . boys for the last two years, haven't As he was leaving her, she said, you?— No. he asked her not to say anything mi n ' spite of her negative answers, about the incident— -"or else you counsel brought her mind back rewill get me pinched. peatedly to the occasions of her visits Capel, Jn .his statement t<^ the police, to the pictures, allegedly admitted having made this Again he asked: "When you go to remark. the pictures sometimes, don't you fool young couple having parted around with boys?" company m the lane, the next act m But the girl was not to be shaken, tlie drama was staged at the house of "No," came the answer once more, althe jgifl's aunt, whither she hurried m most m a whisper, a'i state of great agitation. Then counsel took her to the night i ; On her way home, she stated, she on which she visited the lane, ..asking met no one, but on reaching the house her if she had not passed a dance-hall she collapsed m the doorway and knew on the way. nothing more until the ilolice-sergeant The girl said that she had seen the arrived on the scene. hall when she was on her way home At this stage of the proceedings the after leaving Capel. ,

Counsel: You walked up the lane with the boy? — He caught hold of irjy hand and led me up. The boy started to make love to you? —No. He put his arm around you? — Yes, when he took hold of me to take me up the lane. Did you know what he wanted? — When he asked me I did. He asked me several times. • And now and again he would kiss you?— No. The dance-hall was down at the corner, wasn't it? — Yes. You would be talking together for about a- quarter of an hour?— l think It would be about that. Before concluding his cross-exam-ination, counsel brought the girl back to the question of whether she had been out with Powelly, Hagen or Oliver, but again her answer was a denial. Counsel: "All right, we will leave it at that." Looking unperturbed, the girl left the witness-box to be replaced by Dr! W. E. Williams, who gave medical testimony. His evidence was to the effect that he had ' examined the girl two days after the alleged assault. The doctor* said he found evidence that she had been ' interfered with, but . there were : no bruises about her limbs and no bruises on her chin, although the latter showed signs of swelling. The magistrate: If she had been punched two or three times by a man's What Capel Said fist, she would have had a bruise as big as an apple?— Yes. Chief- detective Hammond interposed somewhat testily with the remark that "she has had some rough usage, then." The aunt then related the girl's home-coming bn the fateful night and described her collapse on entering. She also stated that the girl had told her she had been assaulted by a man, whereupon she notified the police. The girl's underclothing had been new and her garments were not torn prior to her going out. Her coat was m its present muddy condition when she returned home. The only further evidence was the reading of Capel's statement to the police, In which he said that he was single, aged 17, and resided m Cumberland Avenue. He was employed by Rayner and Sons, of Cook Street. "On Saturday, September 15, I left home about 7.30 p.m., intending to go to the pictures," the statement ran. After leaving the Princess Theatre about 10.15 p.m., he walked along Karangahape Road with a boy named "Podgy" Sullivan, and there he saw a girl he knew by sight. "I had seen her the Saturday before and she had promised to meet me on the Sunday, but she did not turn up," he continued. "She was some way m front of us, then she went down a street, so I left Sullivan and walked down to catch her up. "I met her about a hundred yards Did She Object? down the street and asked why 3he did not turn up on the Sundaynight. "She said that she had been out with another boy and could not get away from him. I asked her if I could take .tier home and she said I could. "We walked along to where. there is a lane. The Druid's Hall is just about opposite. We stood talking for a while. "She wodld not go up the lane, so I caught hold of her arm and took her up. She. seemed to be stubborn," When he interfered with her clothes, she did not seem to mind, he said. He then asked her a certain question and she said she w an ted to go home. "I then put her on the ground," the statement continued. "I had my arm around her neck and I just put her down. I did not punch her m the face. .'.•••'•■ c "She was not struggling or calling out, but she asked me to let , her up— -and- 1 did. "She stood up and fell again, hitting her head on a brick wall. I asked her to let me brush her coat, but she walked away. "As she walked away, I asked her if she was all right and she said 'Yes.' "I said: 'Don't say anything about this or you will get me pinched.* I don't know why I said that. "I have known her about nine months, but I have never gone out with her before. ( I did not know how old she was." ..-'•_ The S.M. committed accused to the Supreme Court for trial, allowing bail m one surety of £50. Counsel made application for suppression of Capel's name, but the bench Would not allow this, stating: "Other girls should know that he Is not a safe boy to go out with!" 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111l