Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 192, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 August 1913 — SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST J. L WILLIS [ARTICLE]

SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST J. L WILLIS

Proprietor of Garage Charged With Criminal Assault Against 15-Years-Old Girl.

James L. Willis, commonly called “Jamie” Willis, who has been in the automobile garage business in Rensselaer for several years, was arrested Tuesday- afternoon on an affidavit made by J. J. O’Brien, a tailor, charging Willis with having criminally assaulted Mr. O’Brien’s step-daughter, Clara Bell Thompson, 15 years of age. Anticipating arrest Willis had secured the services of Attorneys Dunlap and Parkinson to defend him and was at the office of Mr. Parkinson, when arrested by Constable W. S. Parks. He was taken before Mayor Geo. F. Meyers, where his attorneys at once began a strenuous tight in his behalf. Attorney Moses Leopold represented the state. The defendant’s attorneys fllpd a plea in abatement, alleging that Mayor Meyers had no jurisdiction. The motion was overruled. They then filed a motion for a change of venue from the township, setting forth that the defendant could no’; receive a fair trial in this township, owing, to the. feeling against him. The attorneys argued, for some time about the right to make a change of this kind from the mayor’s to a justice’s court. The mayor decided to grant the change and sent the case to the court of . Squire Joel Spriggs, of Walker township, and the hearing was set for Monday afternoon of next week at 2 o’clock. Willis was released on SSOO bond, his father, A. L. Willis, signing the bond. There was no question about the correctness of the affidavit alleging the feeling against the defendant in this city. Men and women alike were indulging in bitter denounciation of Willis .and the attitude of the people was very grave and many undertone threats wete made by people not given to excitement. The Thompson girl had been working at the Willis home for three or four days prior to last Friday evening. On that evening Willis took his wife and two children and the Thompson girl in his automobile. The little girl’s story is to the effect that Mrs. Willis and the children got out of the machine some place at the out-

skirts of town, where Mrs. Willis was having dressmaking done. Willis offered to take the Thompson girl for a ride. She charges that he turned the lights out, stopped the car, put his hand over her mouth and dragged her out and committed the act. She says that she tried to ery out and that he choked and cursed her. She states that he brought her back to town, letting her out some place where there was no sidewalk and when she got home her eyes were bloodshot from crying. Mr. O’Brien asked what was the matter and she told him and he told her to go right to her mother and she did so. Mrs. O’Brien went right away to the home of A. L. Willis, across the street, and told Mrs. Willis, who, with her husband, went to the home of their son. Later Jamie and his father went to the O’Brien home, where he is alleged to have informed Mr. O’Brien that ,he was quoted in Bradstreet’s commercial agency as being worth $32,000 and that his people and his wife’s people had money and that they would spend it all defending him and that the O’Briens would only bring disgrace upon themselves and the daughter. Mr. O’Brien and family have been here less than a year, having come from Delavan, Wis. They are in ordinary circumstances, depending on his wages for their living, and they thought that they would have to have money with which to prosecute Willis and they decided just to bury their bitter trouble. In some manner information leaked out and became generally talked about on the street Tuesday morning and Mr. O’Brien, who had worried himself almost sick about the trouble, related the little girl’s story. When he went home at noon he had the child again tell him just what happened and lie decided to file the affidavit, which he censured himself for failing to do immediately on hearing the child’s story. The Republican can not print the horrible details of the story told by the girl, but if they are true we believe that every person in Rensselaer will hope that the severest punishment is meted out to the brute who did the deed. A counsel of physicians made an examination of the girl this afternoon, on order of Prosecuting Attorney Longwell, of Brook, who was advised by telephone of the arrest and the action thus far. Mr. Longwell also asked that the bond for Willis’ freedom be increased from SSOO to $1,900.