The Trial and Conviction of John Church: The Preacher of the Surrey Tabernacle, Borough Road, at the Surrey Assizes, at Croydon, on Saturday, the 16th of August, 1817, for an Assault With Intent to Commit an Unnatural Crime.Anonymous
Religion
The Trial and Conviction of John Church: The Preacher of the Surrey Tabernacle, Borough Road, at the Surrey Assizes, at Croydon, on Saturday, the 16th of August, 1817, for an Assault With Intent to Commit an Unnatural Crime.
Anonymous
Church, J. (John), approximately 1780-approximately 1825 -- Trials, litigation, etc.; Trials (Sodomy) -- England
was any inquiry made whether the lock of that door was defective, as
sometimes happens to be the case with the servant’s rooms in a
gentleman’s house; for deficiencies of that description are not so
immediately remedied as in the more preferable rooms of the house.
Gentlemen, could the young man by any possibility mistake the female
figure of the maid servants or of his mistress, for the man he
described—a man that is of considerable size—near six feet high, and a
very striking object in point of height? Most unquestionably there is no
pretence for supposing, that there could be any body else but Mr. Church
in the room at that time. Now what is the conduct of the young lad on
that occasion? He goes down to West, the potter, immediately, and states
to him, that Mr. Church had behaved indecently. I admit that, in the
course of conversation, he mentioned some of the particulars of what
occurred, which the potter says he does not recollect. The boy goes on
further, and states particulars that he had related to the man, which the
latter says had not been mentioned to him; and what is more probable,
than that in giving an account of a conversation which took place so long
ago as the month of September last, that the one may add half a sentence
which the other does not remember? But was not the statement that the
lad made at the time to the second witness, West, (though the latter does
not recollect the whole of what passed) that Church came into his
chamber, and conducted himself with indecency towards him? They then
return to the house; the lad and he examine the house for the purpose of
ascertaining whether any body else is there; no other male person
sleeping in the house; and they find all secure and safe; and yet it is
to supposed, that they went in search for thieves! Why the result of the
search would decide whether the object of the search was to see whether
there were any thieves in the house—for neither a door nor a window had
been opened, nor was there any aperture at which a thief could gain
admittance. It is clear, therefore, that there was no other male in the
house except Church, the party indicted; nor is there now any colour for
supposing that there was any body else there of his sex but himself.
But, it is said their object was to search for thieves, and that the
alarm was for thieves, and that the Boy, when he went before the
Magistrate, gave some account about searching for thieves. Why, in his
examination here to-day, when he was asked whether he and West did not go
back together to the house and search for thieves, he very naturally
said, “Yes, Sir:” but why did he give that answer?—Because there was
another proposition put to him, which appeared as material as that with
respect to the search for thieves, and accordingly he answered in the
affirmative. It is true that he did admit at first, that he went to
search for thieves; but when he came to give the explanation to the
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