GUARDIAN'S BESTIALITY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 97, 17 April 1914, Page 7

GUARDIAN'S BESTIALITY.

AN UNSAVOURY CASE. fP*R PnVM AUROOIATirvN.I Cjuistchurch, i Agril 16. Five small children, two.girls and ■tivree ,boys, A were paradixl hefore Mp H. W. Bishop. S.M., at a fitting of tho •iuvenilo Court this afternoon, on a ('harge of not being under proper control.".. : :.:..';,', The girls % wero. aged 13 and 12 years,, mid the boys, H, 10 and .8 years. The story, told by Chief-Detective Bishop, supplemented by statements from the children,, alleged a terrible state of affairs. The Chief Detective stated that the children were living with their step-parents. Both had been married three times, and the family before the Court were by the second wife of their stepfather. The stepfather had been committed for trial oil a charge of having carnal knowledge with the eldest girl, who was 13 years of age. The Magistrate: How long has this been going on ? '

The Chief Detective: For about three years.

In reply to the Magistrate, the j Chief Detective stated that tho mat- i tor had only recently been reported to the police, otherwise it would have j been put a stop to long ago. On the last occasion when the affair was said ■to have taken place the second girl i asked the stepmother that the police should be informed, and later that was done. v The Magistrate: It's an awful; business. (To the girl): Why didn't i you report it before? The girl replied that she was not ! old enough then to know what to do. The second girl, a child of twelve, ' then volunteered the information that ' she had also been assaulted. [ The Magistrate: The man must be ; an animal. | The girl: He's worse than that! The Magistrate: It's an awful his-; tory. Upon my word, it's something frightful that such things can happen, i It's a great pity that the thing has been going on for the last two years without someone getting information about it. The Magistrate committed the children to the Christchurch Receiving j Homo..