A MAORI’S OFFENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 May 1922, Page 6

A MAORI’S OFFENCE.

CASE IN SUPREME COURT. SENTENCE DEFERRED. On Saturday morning hearing was concluded in the Supreme Court, New- : Plymouth, of the case in which a Maori ' named Simon Penny (or Pini), aged 24, i was charged wiJi having carnal know- ; ledge of a Maori girl aged 11 years and 6 months. The offence, it was alleged, ‘ took place at Taiporohenui pah, near Hawera in December last. Mr. C. H. . Weston appeared for the Crown and Mr. L. A. Tayler (Hawera) for the ac- ’■ cused. On behalf of the defence Mr. Tayler j pointed out that although the law did not require corroboration of the evi- ’ dence of the principal witness for the Crown in such cases, it was the invariable practice of courts to warn juries : of the danger of convicting accused per- ' sons on the uncorroborated evidence of i very young children in such cases. He submitted that there had been no corroboration of the little girl’s evidence. The Crown Prosecutor submitted that ; all the evidence showed that the two principal parties in the case were ; very much attracted to each other, i This was admitted by both of them, as . was also the fact that they had slept I together on numerous occasions, and ! from this he said the jury was entitled : to make the presumption that the of- j fence charged had been committed. i In summing up, His Honor, Mr. Jus '■ tice Reed, said the case was a peculiar one. and eaesntially one for a jury to i decide. He reminded them that the ' fact that a girl who was under the age j of consent had allowed anyone to ' commit the offence in the indict- 1 ment, was no defence in a crime i of this sort. One peculiarity ,

of the ease was that the statement of the girl -vas r.ot corroborated by any signs upoL her of the offence having taken place, and ihe Judge pointed out that in thia connection the evidence of the doctor who examined her was of a negative quality. So that the case depended upon the evidnee of the girl as to whether there had ever been an assault upon her. It was stated that the jury were entitled to find a verdict that the accused had attempted to have carnal knowledge if they felt that was as far as the evidence warranted them in going. The jury retired at 1.30 and returned at 12.15 with a verdict of guilty of attempted carnal knowledge. The prisoner was remanded until Thursday for sentence.