TWENTY YEARS' IMPRISONMENT

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10549, 3 February 1912, Page 5

TWENTY YEARS' IMPRISONMENT

A REVOLTING CASE. JUSTICE CHAPMAN SPEAKS STRONGLY. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Last Night. A most revolting case was unfolded Mn the Supreme Court to-day, when Albert Henry Hughes, a man about 26 years of age, was tried on a charge of, on December 9th, 1911, at Petone, committing a serious offence against a girl nine years of age. Mr Justice Chapman on the bench, and Mr H. H. Ostler, of the Crown Law Office, was Crown Prosecutor., * The prisoner, who pleaded not guilty, was defended by Mr Oracroft Wilson. . fine court was cleared during the bearing of the case. ' • «. The jury retired shortly after o p.m., and.returned in about ten minlutes' time'with.,a verdict of guilty. , | ~ His Honor, stated, in reply, to pro-' [ sofe'§' ,o^imsel,: : 'ib^fc ; ;.he' proposed ,tt>; -pass sentence, immediately.''.'..-. ' ■ y,\ |::' IMir''.Wilson thereupon said that-he-I 'felt' bound 'to "mention' the prisoner's; weakness of character..'... . I. His Honor: "It is of no"" use* in 'a • case of this sort. Mr Wilson: He /has had two kinds of fever, and has been under the doctor at Otaki on several occasions. His Hlonor- feplied that that was •entkely, a 'matter lor the gaol', authorities.' ' . Mr, Wilson: I bow to your Honour's opinion, /but. I'felt it my duty to mention these matters.. ; | j His Honor: You are quite right to I do 'so, Mi- Wilson. Addressing the prisoner, His Hon,o,r said: "This is the very worst case IT'have ever had the misfortune to 1 deal with—the most cruel and brutal outrage I ever heard of. You took this little'girl away from her home and ruthlessly violated her-in that lonely spot. I have known people in my titrne hanged for such offences in the neighbouring States;" but the leniency of the jaw n'oiw allows me to Tio?s a lees "soteire sentence on you. I do not think it necessary to pass! sentence of tffe'j. although I may have! Rf-me •difFoiiJty-in giving' my reasons J for not doing so. The sentence I am fto,:ng ,t<' must, however, be a, very long term —indeed, so long that 1 do not deem it necessary to add the pr.iLdsbroerii of. flogging, which I have done in awoe cases chat have come.before me. The only sentence consistent with my duties that I can ; pass i«r thts outrage, is twenty years' impriranment, with hard lab-, ouav . . • • ■ . | Addressing, the .jury, His Honor continued': "Thus has been a painful case for. you, as wen as for me. It may be that many people taay think excessive the sentence I have just i passed,'.but. the law .fixes the maxij,mum .penalty for, .such an offence at ihard labour .for life."" i •, • -' i ' His Honor repeated that he' might \have diifliculty in, 'reasons for 'imposing the sentence that -he had:; hxit it had been his endeavour, to stamp out such outrages, on , young glirls. For the reason that publiea-j tibn cf the details of these cases was frequently forbidden, and because j Uie newspapers for the sake of the de- ' .cer.cy of their own columns, did j not enlarge upon them, even when 'puTjXcTiibn *was no. forbidden, -tlite j r>ubl)ic''were not quite aware of the] fact "t hat these offences were so fre-' riuent. "Certainly," His Honor, koncluded, "they are not often att-' '?nded.witJi sudi violence, but I can f'nform' you that m a few years I : hiive tried over a hundred of these bases." •His Tfonour thanked the-jury for -their attention to the case, and discharged them from further attendance.