The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-02-22 00:00:00

AN EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL.

Rather late on Sunday evening, September lot, of
last year, a young German, named Haven, was pro-
mtuading in the Bois de Boulogne, at Lille, with a
young lady named KJ:mut to whom, in about a fort-
night from that time, he was engaged to be married.
Suddenly they were pounced up in by three men, who
stated that they were police agents, and accusing the
young people of an offence against public morality,
seized upon Havi z with a declsration that they would
place him in custody. Three other pretended police-
men endeavoured to seduce Miss Kueuf, but she
resisted desperately, screaming for help, and event-
ually escaped. Arrived at home in a state of la-
treme terror, the young woman reported what had cc-
calved, and information was given to the police.
Havez was missing. Running through the park where
the assault took place is a canal; this canal was
dragged, and there the body of the unfortioate young
Titan was discovered. He had been strangtlll, and then
thrown into the water. Search was immediately insti-
tuted for the murderers, and the result was the disclo-
sure of the fast that, for the last four years, a baud
of lutfians—twenty in number—had perpetrated on
the outskirts of Lyons a series of crimes which
might well be deemed impossible in any country
in Europe. Their plan was illustrated in this
case. Whenever they saw young persons walk-
ing together after dusk in any solitary place they
rushed suddenly upon them, and, pretending they
were agents of police, two or three of the gang
seiz.-.1 upon persons walking in lovely places, made
these abominable charges, their accomplices came up
arid swore to the truth of these charges, and then,
seizing their victims, they hurried them in opposite
directions, and inflicted upon theni every species of the
most infamous treatment. In this way they had
terrified, assaulted, and robbed men avil outraged
women by hundreds, and had tsc eyed punishment
through the unwillingness of the parties, and especially
of the young women, to make known the indignities
and outrages to which they had been subjected.
Unfortunately, only nine of the ruffians were se-
cured ; the rest crossed the borders to Belgium or Ger-
many as soon as the alarm was given. The names and
ages of the accused were as f.llows :—Butin. ; U Cave
Her, 29 ; Merches, 30; Based, 36 ; Lid.-11, 31; onard,
24 ; Muffler. 35; Domieoy, 17; Delavoye, 18. Of
these, Paul Based was in the octroi service, Buda was
a professor of gymnastics, while the others were work-
ing men, employed for the most part in the factories.
When it became known that the prisoners were in
custody a large number of persons came forward, and
deposed to acts of -violence which they suffered; but
it was known that stilllarge numbersof victims declined
to appear, and it was proved in evidence that one of
the accused had boasted that five hundred of the
young women of Lille had fallen into their grasp.
The trisl which has just taken pace was with closed
doors, but it is known that several of the witnisees
i !entitled the prisoners as the persons who attacked
them, Cuvelier and Rutin being apparently the worst,
some of the others having acted as their accessories,
coming up at the time of the pretended arrests,
offering to be witnesses to prove the scandalous
charges male against the unhappy victims, and
sharing in the plunder which they exacted before
allowing them to get away. At first the pri-
soners met the accusation with bravado, the
result of their long impunity; but on Fri lay, when the
case was drawing to a close, and when the accumulated
evidence left no chance of escape, every man brake
down. They were all b west, with their faces
buried in their hands ; and bursting at intervals into
team, their sobs (says the reporter) interrupted the
epeeches of c 'tinsel. Public indignation against them
ran high, especially when Millie. Kueuf nail given her
evidence. She was overcome with emotion, and
perhaps from this cause was unable to recognise any
one of the accused as having participated in the attack
upon herself and her lover; and probably for that
reason the crime of murdering M. HaVtz appears not
to have been brought home to them. On Saturday
night the Court pronounced judgment, sentencing
Cavelier and Butte to twenty years' hard labour,
Leleu and Merches t s eight years' hard labour,
Muffler to five years' hard labour, Based to eight mei
Conard to five years' imprisonment, Delavoye to
eivhteen months' imprisonment ; while Dinniuoy was
acquitted.