The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-12 00:00:00

The Alleged Assault iu a Railway Carriage,

At the Aldershot Petty Sessions yesterday, before
Captain Newcome road a full bench of magistrates,
Henry Nash, a middle aged man of respectable
appearance, described as a yEoman, residing at
Hawley, near Farntorough, surrendered to his bail
on a charge of having indecently assaulted a young
woman, named Moody, in a railway carriage, whilst
travelling between Surbiton and Woking, on the
previous Wednesday. The
complainant, who is 20
years of age, was in attendance with her father,
who is curator of the Winchester Museum, and with
whom she resides. She bore the appearance of being
a respectable and intelligent person, and seemed
somewhat agitated, from the peculiar position in
which she was placed. The court
was densely
crowded by a number of highly respectable persons,
many of whom were relatives and friends of the
parties. Mr T. Bent, superintendent of police at
Waterloo station, appeared to prosecute on behalf
of the South Western Railway company, and Mr R.
Eve, solicitor, of Aldershot,
defended the prisoner,
The particulars of the case, as detailed by Mr
Bent, were as follows :—lt appeared that on Wed-
nesday last the complainant took her seat in a second
class carriage at Waterloo Station, and shortly after-
wards the prisoner entered the same
They were then quite alone, but priocompartment.
r to the depar-
ture of the train at 1.10 p.m. another female entered
and sat near the complainant. The prisoner at-
tempted to force a conversation with the latter,
asking her how old she was, why she wore spec-
tacles, and several other
questions, which she de.
elited to aiisWet. This occurred before. the ether
female entered the railway carriage, and her ptt-
sence caused the prisoner to desist for a time from
putting any further questionn-
The eomplainant
then felt safe, and the three rode down to Burbiton,
where the female alluded to
alighted, leaving Miss
Moody alone with the prisoner. Almost immediately
on the train leaving this station, and before it had
got fairly
in motion, the prisoner laid himself on
the seat opposite to that on which complainant was
sitting, and, in
the questions ho had previously put to her, which
a very insulting manner, repeated
she again declined to answer.
the prisoner's annoyance, Miss In order to avoid
Moody got up and
looked out of the YFdo
from her seathand laid on her
shoulder and cirawn down to her waist. Almost
when in
swho, but
felt she had scarcely risen
a
limmediately afterwards she felt that her clothes
'were being lifted up in front, and with a view to
prevent this and any other molestation Ahe opened
the door of the compartment and got outside, stands
ing on the step of the carriage, the train at the
time going at a rapid paeo. The complainant had
no further recollection of anything that occurred
until she found herself in the hands of the guard,
and of Mr. Stokes, another passenger, the train
being then at a stand still between Esher and
Woking,. It was then discovered that the come
plainant had for some time been in a state of
unconsciousness, and that she had been held in
a most perilous position during the time by Mr.
Stokes, a military bootmaker, of London and Alder.
shot, who was riding in the adjoining com-
partment, and whose notice was directed to the
complainant by a boy who had observed her
hanging by the handle of the door. Mr. Stokes
bravely exerted himself to rescue her from this