The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-05-15 00:00:00

THE SERIOUS ASSAULT ON A WARD

IN CHANCERY.

William Charles Russell, 27, clerk, was indicted at
the Central Criminal Court on Saturday, for assault-
ing Lydia Baker, a girl under the age of 16 years.
Mr. Poland and Mr. Marshall Hall prosecuted, and
Mr. Geoghegan defended. Mr. Poland, in stating the
facts of the case, said the girl, Lydia Baker, was the
daughter of a woman whose maiden name was Lips-
comb. She was a domestic servant to a ti.an named
Baker, and in 1871 the girl Lydia Baker as born.
At that time the father was not married to Lipscomb,
anio
girl was known as Lydia Baker. In 1881 the father
died, leaving some .£3OO or SAW per annum, wlai2l2
he divided amongst his children, the girl Lydia being
made a ward in Chancery. The widow then made
the acquaintance of the prisoner, with whom she con-
sented to live, taking his name. This woman seemed
to have given way to drink, and went from bad to
worse. After Easter last year, the prisorer took
the girl back to school, she being then about 15 years
of age. Previous to then, however, he had seduced
her, and there seemed to be no doubt that these acts
were repeated from time to time. The prisoner was
in the habit of going round the house to see if all
was right, and he entered the girl's room under the
pretence of turning out the gas. Subsequently the
unhappy conditions under which the girl was living at
home were told toisorne of her friends, and she was
removed from the mother's evil influences. The
whole of the lamentable story was afterwards told by
the girl, and when the facts came before Mr. Justice
Cave, he at once ordered this prosecution. The Court
would be happy to know that this young girl had
been entiroly removed from these evil surroundings,
and was under the care of kind friends, who would
look after her in future. Mr. Geoghegan: I have had
the opportunity of consulting with my client, who has
placed himself entirely in my hands. Under the cir-
cumstances I propose to save any further exposure of
the facts of this case by advising prisoner to plead guilty
to the indictment. The Recorder: The prisoner has
already been given in charge of the jury, and I can-
not withdraw the case from them; but they have
heard your statement, and cn that they will find a
verdict of guilty. The jury accordingly returned
this verdict. Mr. Geoghegan then addressed the
Court in mitigation of sentence, and said that, hav-
ing read the depositions, he had come to the conclu-
sion that there was absolutely no answer in law to the
charge. He therefore spoke to his client, who placed
himself entirely in his hands, and the prisoner had
made the only reparation he could by pleading guilty,
and thus saving the girl the ordeal of again going into
the witness-box. The girl had been removed now
from all evil influences, and he would ask his lordship
to pass as lenient a sentence as possible. The Recorder
then sentenced the prisoner to 12 months' imprison-
ment with hard labour.

Down in East Pennsylvania, two ministers man
public confession of the use of tobacco. One of
them smoked to cure the toothache, and the other
used the weed for throat:trouble. The congregation
forgave them, and now it is reported that every
minister within two hundred miles of the place either
has toothache or throat trouble of some kind.