ABNORMAL CRIMINALITY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 75, 20 July 1914, Page 7

ABNORMAL CRIMINALITY.

[Pas Peeks Association.] Auckland, July 17

An unkempt and rather undersized youngster of fifteen years, who came before Mr F. V. Fraser, S.M., this morning admitted an offence which showed an abnormal criminal development of an educated kind. He had been acting as guide to a blind organgrinder called Fete, and had evolved a system of fraud by which he had since February extracted from the. old man, in sums ranging from £1 to £5, the amount of £2O. When' the organ-grinder was in Christchurch he was robbed of something like £6OO. He came on to Auckland, bringing the lad with him as guide, and the boy in February delighted his ears with a story that he had got on the track of the money, which was recoverable. He said that he had got hold of two men who had gone over to Sydney with the thief, and they informed him that the thief had died there of blood-poison-ing, but prior to his death had confessed the theft and directed that restitution should he made. The boy said lie was making enquiries with a view to recovering the money, and from time to time read 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 the accident that caused his blindness, and he conducted proceedings to this end, too, writing “fake” letters and drawing money said to be necessary for preliminaries. Pete at one stage got suspicions, because someone told him a letter he had got was in the boy’s handwriting, so the boy afterwards got the letters type-written. “I have one here,” said Chief-Detective' McMahon, producing the document, which read: “Send me £l. Look out, P.—Menzies, detective.” Mr McMahon explained that the “P” stood for Pete and “Menzies” was the mythical detective who was making enquiries about the blind man’s lost money. The hoy had gone to a typist’s office, and had the letter typed for sixpence. “Eat it is strange that anyone in a typist’s office should type a letter like that for a hoy,” exclaimed the Magistrate.

“We are enquiring about that,” said Mr McMahon. Detective Hammond said that he knew the stock from which the boy sprang, and 4 that the lad’s brothers showed similar tendencies.

Remarking on the highly-developed criminal instinct of the lad, his Worship committed the boy to the Burnham Industrial School, and informed him that such an offence as this by a man would mean a sentence qf five years in gaol.