The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1873-02-22 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL.  Rather late on Sunday evening, September lot, of last year, a young German, named Haven, was promtuading in the Bois de Boulogne, at Lille, with a young lady named KJ:mut to whom, in about a fortnight 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 policemen endeavoured to seduce Miss Kueuf, but she resisted desperately, screaming for help, and eventually escaped. Arrived at home in a state of latreme terror, the young woman reported what had cccalved, 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 instituted for the murderers, and the result was the disclosure 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 walking 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 secured ; the rest crossed the borders to Belgium or Germany 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 working 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 prisoners 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.