Youthful Prisoners

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 271, 6 February 1928, Page 1

Youthful Prisoners

SUPREME COURT CASES VARIETY OF OFFENCES A noticeable feature when a list of eleven prisoners were sentenced by Mr. Justice Reed at the Auckland Supreme Court this morning was that about half of the number were young men in their early twenties. PERNARD CHARLES ALLEN COLE, who forged a, cheque for £lO in the name of his employer, was sentenced to reformative detention for two years. It was disclosed that he had previously misappropriated £65 when employed by a Christchurch tank, and has lately been employed for a short period by several firms. Four years' hard labour was the sentence meted out to John Cuthbert Leathart, guilty of attempted carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 12 years. A young Maori named John Tohu who pleaded guilty to attempted rape in the Hokianga District, was ordered to come up for sentence if called upon, and His Honour also directed that he should take out a prohibition order. The case contained little of a serious nature, and the submission was that it was due to drink. His Honour said he thought prisoner had been wrong to plead guilty to the offence, which at the worst was a case of indecent assault, in which the prisoner had not insisted. His Honour said he could not grant probation as it was regarded by Maoris as a victory. Prisoner was als.» ordered to pay costs?. Robert Leonard Pickworth, a youm; man who has previously served periods of probation and Imprisonment, was sentenced to three years’ reformative detention. Prisoner said his employer would not pay him his week’s wages, so he forged a cheque. MISSING BANK BOOK. “rt is beyond the bounds of coincidence that a man should lose a bank book in the street, and that his roommate should find it. We assert that he took it from his mate’s packet.” This disclosed the difference between the police and defendant’s story when Edward Russell Everett was granted probation for one year. Everett went to the post office to draw some money, but the rightful owner of the bank book was there first, having notified the loss of the book. Everett asserted that he found the book in the street, but the owner’s story went to show that Everett stole it from the owner’s pocket. Mr. Glaister, for prisoner, intimated that he would try to get prisoner back to Australia. WOMAN SENTENCED The unusual sight of a woman in the dock for sentence was witnessed when Myra McKernan appeared from having pleaded guilty to false pretences by which she raised over £7O from a solicitor. She was not represented by counsel and asked for probation. His Honour remarked thsut there were previous convictions, and the solicitor was somewhat to blame. He would allow probation for three years, a-nd would order that prisoner repay £4O of the amount stolen at the rate 10s weekly.