The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-03 00:00:00

SEDUCTION AND ROBBERY.

At the Salford Sessions, on Friday, William Broadbent
was charged with stealing, at Rochdale, on the 21st of
March, a quantity of wearing apparel and £8 in money, the
property of Eliza Thorpe. The prosecutrix was one of a.
family residing at Cotehill, near Halifax. The father was
engaged in a mill, and the prosecutrix and another sister
earned a living by dressmaking. On the 30th of January.
this year, the prisoner called at the house of the prosecutria
and asked to see his father ; he waited until Mr. Thorpe
came in, and told him he was in partnership with his
brother in a mill at Sowerby-bridge, and he wanted Mr.
Thorpe to come and work for him. At the same time he
should not require Mr. Thorpe's services for several months.
Before he left the house that night he asked prosecutrim if
she kept company with any one ; and on his second visit he
asked her to keep company with him. The prisoner kept
company with Mr. Thorpe until March, when he took her
with him to Bradford, under the pretence of ordering some
machinery for his mill. About the same time ho borrowed
£l2 from Miss Thorpe, for the purpose, as he alleged, of
paying some of his workmen. When they were at Brad-
ford, he took Miss Thorpe to see a friend of his of the name
of Fox—they had tea with Fox and his wife, and she re -
turned the same night home. Afterwards the prisoner said
trade was so bad he was going to sell his share in the mill
to his brother, and wanted Miss Thorpe to go with him to
America. She consented. They afterwards again went to
Bradford, and saw Fox. Upon that occasion the prisoner
told them he and Miss Thorpe were about to be married,
and were going to America; and Fox proposed that he
should accompany them, and that his wife should follow.
This was agreed to. Miss Thorpe packed up ,her beat
clothes in a box, and £8 in money ; and on the 21st
of March she, the prisoner, and Fog, proceeded to the
Sowerby Bridge railway station, as she thought, to go to
Liverpool. Her sister went with her to the station and
saw them off. It was arranged that they were to go direct
to Liverpool, and be married there, sailing to America the
same week. The prisoner and Fox, however, got out at
Rochdale, and the prisoner told her she must also get out,
as they wanted to see some of his friends before they lett
the country. Her box was taken out, ant they all went to
the Weavers' Arms, kept by Mr. Shepherd. That same
night prisoner and Fox broke open Miss Thorpe's box, took
her money, and pledged and sad all her clothes. The
prisoner and Miss Thorpe slept together that night and the
following night. They reached Richdale on the 21st, and
on the 24th they came on to Manchester. She asked where
her box was, and they said it had been despatched to Liver-
pool, so as to save their being bothered with it. At Man-
chester the prisoner slept one night with Miss Thorpe, and
the following morning Fox disappeqred. The prisoner said
he would go and see what had become of Fox, and went
out, but never returned. After waiting several hours Miss
Thorpe began to suspect something was wrong, and went
out to look for the prisoner. She did not find him ; and,
being, alarmed, thought he might have gone to Rochdale,
and so she determined to walk there. On reaching that
town she went to the Weavers' Arms, and found that
neither the prisoner nor Fox had been there. She then
became so distracted as not to know what she did, and in.
that state of mind entered several shops in succession, and
stole articles of wearing apparel. She was taken up im-
mediately by the police, and the following morning refused
to say anything about herself, pleaded guilty, and was sen-
tenced to two months' imprisonment, which she served in
the New Bailey. On coming out she was taken home by
her sister; a few days atterwards she went to Rochdale,
and applied for a warrant against Fox, who was tried at
the July sessions, and sentenced to three years' penal ser-
vitude. The prisoner Broadbent was in custody at the
time for another offence. The jury returned a verdict of
guilty. The chairman told the prisoner that the jury had
very properly found him guilty of this most scandalous
offence, and there could be no doubt as to the diabolical
scheme practised upon the young woman, who had been
the principal witness, whereby she had been robbed of
everything she possessed, deprived of her honour, and then
left in a most base manner by the prisoner. The prisoner
had been imprisoned on three previous occasions—once for
neglect of his wile and family, and twice for obtaining
money under false pretences. The Court would not be
doing its duty to the public if it did not carry out the ex-
treme penalty of the law. The prisoner was therefore sen-
tenced to seven years' penal servitude.