The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-12 00:00:00

THAMES.

SERIOUS CHARGE.—DTSORACED FOR EVER.—George
J. Johnson, a tall well-dressed man, about 32 years of age,
a c'erk in the Royal Arsenal, at Woolwich, was brought
before Mr. Woolrych, charged with indecently exposing his
person to some children, in Albert-square, Commercial-
road East.

The principal evidence against the prisoner was given by
a girl named Jane Turner, about 14 years of age. She was
taking care of her little brothers and a sister, and passing
along the eastern side of Albert. square, which is open to
the Commercial-road, when the prisoner passed her and
flourished a stick, with which ho tapped her on the shoulder
and laughed at her. He walked in advance of the girl, her
brothers, and sister, and whistled to attract her atten-
tion. She looked towards him and he beckoned
to her to approach him. His clothos were thenjin a disordered
state and his person exposed. As the children walked on-
wards the prisoner walked before them with his person
exposed, and he continued insulting them for 10 or 15
minutes. At last the girl saw a policeman, to whom she
pointed out the prisoner, who adjusted his clothes and ran
away. He was pursued across Arbour-square to Arbour-
street West, at the back of the Thames Police-court. The
policeman called to him and he stopped, and was taken into
custody.
Joseph Turner, a boy 12 years of age, confirmed the state-
ment of his sister in every particular, and clearly established
the charge against the prisoner.
Patrick Condon, 365 K, said the girl came to me in th e
Commercial-road and called my attention to the prisoner,
who was walking down Arbour-street East. He turned
round, and on seeing me he ran away. I called to him
and he stopped. I told him the charge, and he said he
knew nothing about it ; he never saw the girl before. The
prisoner afterwards said, if I did do it, I did it uninten-
tionally. His vest was open,
his eyes were " bloated," and
I have no doubt he was the worse for liquor.
Inspector Griffin, of the K division, said he took the
charge, and all the children related clearly, in Mr. John-
son's presence, the indecent conduct he had manifested
said,to
war,d,sTthhiesmw.illTrhueinprmise, I can look no one in the faceoner stood collected and calm, and
afterwards."
The girl was re-called and very strictly questioned by
Mr. Woolrych. She said what the gentleman did could
not have been accidental ; he whistled to me to take notice
of him.

Mr. Stoddard, solicitor, after cross-examining the wit-
nesses, said that the prisoner was a man of hitherto irre •
proachable character, married, and Lad been two years in
the Royal Arsenal as clerk, The prisoner would be the
last person to act as was I epresented, and it was strange and
improbable that he could have acted in the disgusting way
represented.

A clerk, living near the Court, said the prisoner was his
brother-in-law, and came to his house intoxicated yesterday,
dined, and then went away flourishing his stick a, he was
is the practice of doing. _

Mr. Woolrych said—ln proportion to the gravity of the
charge was his anxiety to investigate it very fully. Reyna
satisfied the case was made out, and that the prisoner had
acted in a most scanialous manner and insulted the ohil
dren in a public square. Drunkenness was no palliation of
crime, but in this case he believed it was the sole cause of
the prisoner acting so disgracefully and so lau orally as he
had done, and divested it in some measure of the grossness
which often attended exposures of this kind. He sentenced
the prisoner as a rogue and vagabond to two months' im-
prisonment and hard labour.
The Prisoner—l am disgraced and ruined for ever.