Oliver

The defendant was convicted of the crime of rape accomplished with a girl of the age of fourteen years. He prosecutes this appeal from the judgment and the order denying his motion for a new trial.

At the time of the alleged offense the defendant was a married man but separated from his wife, from whom he had theretofore secured an interlocutory decree of divorce. He resided, apparently alone, in a house near the residence of his mother. The prosecutrix had lived with her parents for several months in the same neighborhood in which defendant resided and was a friend of defendant’s sister, both girls being of about the same age. The prosecutrix testified that the defendant committed the act charged, her resistance being formal only, if any; that prior to that time he had done things which were not gentlemanly “in different ways; fooled with me . . . with his hand.” The defendant denied the crime charged but did not deny the acts of familiarity further than to say that his relations with the prosecutrix had been “proper.” According to the defendant’s testimony the girl was the pursuer and he the pursued. He testified that he met her nearly every evening by her appointment; that he…