QSR1899/4/5/2

Depositions of Fanny Fuller, wife of Fred Fuller of Roxton; Mercy Johnson of Roxton; Jane Annie Fuller of Roxton; Fred Fuller, labourer of Roxton; Walter George Purser, Police Constable of Great Barford; Herman Dignan and Harold Ellis. In the case against Herman Dignan and Harold Ellis accused of indecently assaulting Mercy Johnson

October 1899

From: 1899 To: 1899

Fanny Fuller said: I live at Roxton Toll Bar House. My husband is named Fred Fuller he is a labourer. About 3.30 on Sunday afternoon I passed along the road from Roxton Park to my house and I saw the prisoners lying on the grass. After I got home I saw the children coming past Mr Day’s lodge coming towards home. I went into my home. I looked out again about 5 minutes after I saw the children running up the road with their hats off. They both were screaming I went out to see what was the matter. I went to meet them. Mercy Johnson made a statement. She said “A boy came out of the allotment field and asked me the way to St Neots, he caught hold of me and put his hand up my clothes under my dress. I never should have got away if it had not been for Janie”. I have examined the child. I don’t see any bruises. [cross examined by Harold Ellis] I did not tell you yesterday the girl said you hit her. [cross examined by Dignan] I asked the girl in your presence whether you had hit her and she said “no”. Mercy Johnson said: Yesterday afternoon I went to Roxton Sunday School I got there at 2 o’clock. We left at 20 minutes to 4. When we left we came by the “Pear Tree” and Roxton Park towards home. I saw the two prisoners on the road they were on the right hand side of the road. When I first saw them they were in the allotment field. Dignan came out on to the road. He asked me the way to St Neots I told him. He tried to catch hold of my leg, he touched it with his fingers, he put his hand underneath my dress against my leg nearly up to my body. I tried to get away and he caught hold of my dress. Janie came and caught hold of my hand and tried to pull me away. We ran home. Dignan went inside the field. [cross examined by Ellis] I did not tell my mother that Dignan did not put his hand up my clothes. Jane Annie Fuller said: I live at Roxton Toll Bar. Last Sunday afternoon I went to the Chapel School. I went with my sister Mercy. I came home with her. We came past “The Pear Tree”. When we were going home we saw the prisoners. They were in the allotment field. When they saw us Dignan came out. He said “Which is the way to St Neots?” My sister told him. He caught hold of my sister’s leg. She tried to get away, he held her by her dress. I took hold of her hand and pulled her away. We ran home. I saw Dignan put his hand underneath her dress. Fred Fuller said: I live at Roxton Toll Gate. I was at home about 3.30 or 4 yesterday afternoon. The children came home. They were crying and screaming. From what they said I went after the prisoners. I saw them come out of the allotment field they ran down inside and got into the lane which leads from the high road to Roxton Spinneys. I kept on along the road and when I got to the gate Mr Day had turned them back. I said to the prisoners “Here young fellow I want you.” Ellis said “What do you want me for.” I said “You’ve been interfering with my children.” He said “Oh! no we didn’t.” I said “That you have. They came home screaming for their lives.” Ellis said “We shan’t go back.” Mr Day said “Oh yes you will. You take one Fred and I’ll take the other.” We took them back to my home. I took them to the door I said to Ellis “What did you do?” He said “We never done anything.” Dignan said he did not do anything either. Mercy said in their presence “They catched hold of my leg and tried to throw me down, and I screamed and Janie ran back and pulled me away.” She pointed to Dignan when she said this. Dignan said he did not. She said “I know you did.” I left them in charge of Frederick Jones while I went for the policeman and when I came back they were gone. [cross examined by Ellis] The girl did say you tried to throw her down. [cross examined by the Bench] About 3.30 or 3.45 I saw the prisoners lying on the road the opposite of the road to the allotment field. Walter George Purser said: I am a Police Constable stationed at Gt Barford. I went to Roxton Toll Gate about 5 o’clock on Sunday afternoon from what I was told I went towards Chawson. I overtook the prisoners by Chawson brook. They were sitting by the side of the road. I told them they would have to come back. Ellis said “I know what you want, it’s about those girls along the road.” I told them I should charge them with attempting to indecently assault the girls. They both replied “I never did anything.” I brought them to the police station. Herman Dignan said: Yesterday afternoon we were reading under a tree by the road side. I saw the children come past. I went out on to the road and asked them the way to St Neots. One of them pointed down the road. I went a little closer to her and my knee went under her dress and caught it up. I put my hand to pull it down and she ran away and screamed. I did not mean to harm the girls at all. I got back over the hedge. We saw a man coming down the road and a man on a bicycle. We went to the house with Fuller. The girl had got her dress off. There was a scratch on her left arm. Mrs Fuller said that was where we hit her. The girl said I tried to catch hold of her leg. I said “I never did”. I told Mr Fuller I was standing a little way from the girl I asked her the way to St Neots. She pointed down the road I walked close up to her and she ran away screaming. Mr Fuller went for a policeman and told another man to look after us. He let us walk past him and followed us down the road. We were on our way to Cambridge. [cross examined by Fred Fuller] We did not ask you the way to St Neots because we were reading. I might have heard you go by but I did not see you. Harold Ellis said: Yesterday afternoon I was on the road to St Neots with Dignan. We felt tired, we had ‘Comic Cuts’. We lay down to read in a wheat field. Joe went to a tree in the shade. He got into the road I heard him say “Which way is it to St Neots” A girl said “That way.” He came away and then went back to them and began doing a ‘Kaffirs dance’. When he lifted his knee up it caught the girl’s dress he knocked it off with his hand, the girls ran off up to the house screaming. We saw Fuller with his coat off. We ran down the inside of the field and got over into the lane. There was a gentleman he asked us whether we knew it was private we said “No”. We started to get on to the road we saw Mr Fuller coming and started to get back. The gentleman said “No come this way” We got over into the road ourselves. Fuller said “I want you,” I said “You don’t want me.” He said “You had better come.” When we got up to the house the girl was crying. The mother said “Are these the boys?” The girl said “I only saw one of them.” The mother said we had been hitting the girl and showed a mark on the girl’s left arm. The child did not want to say anything else. The mother said to Fuller “If you don’t fetch a policeman I will.” Fuller left us in charge of a man. He let us go past and we went on down the road to a brook. [cross examined by Frederick Fuller] At the house the girl said he tried to catch hold of her leg and caught hold of her dress instead. I did not tell you that Dignan put his hand out to pull the dress down. I did not see any of it. I did not see him doing the Kaffir dance I only heard him making a noise with his mouth as they do. Note Harold Ellis is now discharged Statement of Herman Dignan: I have nothing to say

18 pages

item

Fuller, Fanny,
Fuller, Fred,
Fuller, Jane Annie,
Johnson, Mercy,
Purser, Walter George,
Dignan, Herman,
Ellis, Harold

ROXTON, Great Barford, labourer, indecent assault