The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-10 00:00:00

MI DDLESEX SESSIONS.

Patrick Carroll, 35, who was described in the calen-
dar as a clerk of superior education, was indicted for
unlawfully assaulting Emma Luff.
The prosecutrix was a girl 15 years of age next De-
cember, but looking much older, the daughter of a col-
lector, residing at No. 2, George's-terrace, Copenhagen-
street, Islington, and the prisoner was stated to be a
clerk in the General Post-office, in the receipt of a salary
of 1601. a year. He lived next door to the girl's father.
In her examination in chief the prosecutrix stated that
the prisoner had lived next door neighbour to her
father for about four years. Oa the evening of the
12th of August, at about italf.past eight o'clock, she saw
him in the street. He was at his door, and she was
in the area of her father's house. He told her that he
had received a letter from his wife, who was in the
country, and that he expected her home at the end of
the week. At about half-past 0 the same night she went
into the garden to take some clothes which had been
washedfrom a line, and she saw the prisoner in his garden.
He spoke to her, but at first she took no notice. He
said, "Emma, here, I want to speak to you." She had
some of the clothes on her arm then ; she took theta
into the kitchen, and then returned to the garden, when
she found the prisoner close to the wall. The ground on
his side of the wall was lower than on hers, and she
could but imperfectly see him. She went to speak to
him, and stood upon a child's chair which was standing
there. He asked her to stand higher if she could. There
was a ladder on his side of the wall. He again asked
her to stand higher, and she then knelt on the top of
the dust-bin. The prisoner then got up the ladder, and
when he got close to her, he put his arm round her
waist, and said she was a nice girl. She told him to
be ashamed of himself, as he was a married man. He
had a glass in his hand, and asked her to drink out of
it ; he did say what it was, but she could not recol-
lect the name. She refused to drink, and he then
put the glass to hes mouth, and some of the liquid it
contained, whatever it was, went down her throat. It
had a very bitter taste. She did not swallow it willingly,
but tried to force the glass away. Directly after she had
swallowed it her feet became numb, fire seemed to flash
from her eyes, her head whirled round, and she fell do wn
heavily, her head coming in contact with something
which caused a severe contusion. She became insens-
ible, and when she partially recover?d she found herself
in a closet with the prisoner. He was then standing
beetle her with a glass of water in his hand, some of
which he dashed in her face. She again lost her senses,
and when she came to she found herself on a bed in the
prisoner's back parlour. She then struggled with him,
at d the head-board of the bedstead fell out. (She here
described the assault.) The next she remembered was
ar ain finning herself in the closet, her sister, who was
some years younger than herself, standing beside her.
Sae made a noise, and be said if she did not stop it he
woula poison her, and he tried to force a handkerchief
into her mouth, but that was before she saw her sister.
In cross-examination she said she did not have any
supper that night—she did not go into the defendant's
kitchen. Before she went into the garden she sent her
sister out on an errand, to take some clothes to the
mangle. She was on the dust-bin about a minute before
he gave her the drink, and when he offered it to her she
closed her teeth and tried to push him away. She could
not tell how she got over the wall, except that she fell
off the dust-bin. When her sister went out she shut the
door after her, and expected to let her in again in a few
minutes. She had never been subject to hysterical fits.
She had sent her sister to the mangling woman's several
times before that occasion.
Anne Luff, the sister, stated that when the prosecutrix
sent her with the clothes to the mangle she told her she
would open the doer for her, and then they would wait up
until their mother came home. When she got back she
knocked at the door for an hoar, but no one answered,
and she was then taken into the house No. 1, and a gen-
tleman got over the wall and let her into her father's
house, No. 2. As she could not find her sister at home
she went out again. The prisoner came to his drew,
and she asked him if he had seen her sister. He said she
Vas in the closet, and took ber there. She found her
sister lying at full length on the floor. The prisoner had
a glass in his hand, and wished witness to drink, and
said her sister had had some. She would not, and be
held her to prevent her going away. Her sister was
screaming. Mr. Garrod came in.

Cross-examined—She had never been sent with the
mangling so late before. It was usual for her to take it
of a morning. She had not taken the mangling for
months before.

Frederick Garrod, solicitor's clerk, of No.lo, Church-
street, Islington, stated that he was visiting ata friend's
in George's-terrace on the occasion in question, and hear-
ing screams from the prisoner's house he proceeded
there, and knocked several times at the door. The pri-
soner opened the door and opposed his entrance, but he
and another person got in, and asked what was the cause
of such screaming. He saw the girl lying in the passage.
She seemed in great pain, her eyes were swollen, her
hands were clenched, and there was a wildness about
her which induced him to think she was in a fit. The
witness took her up and placed her on a couch in the
parlour. Carroll did not assist. His clothes were out of
order. Witness told hire there were circumstances of sus-
picion in the matter, and that he thought he had at-
tempted an assault upon the girl, whose dress was disar-
ranged. The prisoner said he had only given her two
glasses of ale, and that all of a sudden she fell into the
state in which he had found her, she being subject to
hysterical fits. Witness went into a back parlour, and
there saw a bed tumbled about. This confirmed his sus-
picion, and he asked prisoner to say truly what he had
given her, so that proper treatment might be resorted
to to restore her to sensibility, and he then repeated that
he had only given her two glasses of ale. When her eyes
met the prisoner's she seemed to scream worse. She was
removed to her father's house, and the prisoner was
afterwardsgiven in charge. Mr. Scott, surgeon, attended
her.

Evidence was then given of the inability of a medical
gentleman, Mr. Billinghurst, of Downham.road, who
examined the girl, to attend to give evidence through
illness, and accordingly his deposition was read. It stated
that he was called on to see the prosecutrix at 5 o'clock
on the following morning, when he found her in a Atato