A white man giving his name as William Dilger was arrested by police officers here Monday night and lodged in jail on a warrant charging assault on a female, the arrest following a complaint that the man was mistreating a 4-year-old girl whom he claimed was his daughter.
Dilger came to Concord sometime Monday and secured permission to use the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool for a swimming exhibition by the girl. He advertised the exhibition by placing the child on the hood of a car, giving her a string to hold in one hand for support, while with the other hand she held to the car.
During the exhibition the child was required to swim for quite a while, local officers were told, and then Dilger told her to dive from the high diving board, despite the girl’s protests that she was too tired and was afraid to make the dive. He insisted, however, and at this point some women spectators took a hand. They called a secretary of the Y, who stopped the exhibition and later had Dilger arrested. Several of the women agreed to appear in court as witnesses against the man.
The little girl was taken to the home of Mr. and Mrs. B.W. Means, where she was cared for during the night and day. She is a pretty blonde but shows the results of hard treatment.
Dilger told police officers that he is a show man and that his wife is with a show in Florida. He has been going about the country with the child, apparently living on proceeds taken in at various exhibitions given by her. He insisted that he is the father of the child, although there is no similarity between them.
Police officers searched Dilger and his baggage after placing him under arrest, finding several physician’s instruments, some handcuffs and a bunch of obscene pictures. The pictures for the most part are of nude women.
It is planned by officers to give Dilger a hearing this afternoon, he having been sent to jail I default of bond in the sum of $500.
Dilger told local officers that he has been in Durham, Washington and other cities in recent weeks with the child. He said he and his wife had been together with a show but that the show was disbanded so he came north with his daughter, leaving his wife in Florida, where she was staying with some other show people.
Dilger is about 40 years of age and bitterly resented being arrested.
Local police officers stated this morning that if given an opportunity they would try to make a full investigation of the case to determine why any one with such pictures as were found on Dilger’s should be touring the country with a 4-year-old girl. They also would like to determine why the man was carrying the physician’s instruments.
From page 2 of The Concord Daily Tribune, Tuesday, August 25, 1925.
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073201/1925-08-25/ed-1/seq-2/
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