Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1880-07-24 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

BAD WOMAN. • AN EXTtiORDIAARY °AM&  The Bishop Anohland Magistrates were on Monday occupied a oonsiderable time in the Investigation of a charge of criminal assault, preferred against William Shaw, of Merrington-lane, an owner of property, and who had been admitted to beiil.—The proseontris was Jane Ann Allen, described as a widow, of Darlington, and who told her story circumstantially at great length. She said she had missed the train at Spennymoor, and that she was directed to the house of defendant, who, assurieg her that his wife was dead, and that his sister was about to discontinue housekeeping for him, engaged her at 5s per week. On retiring for the night she pressed for a key to lock her ,bedroom door, but, in the absence of a key, she trusted herself without one, under the belief that defendant's sister was sleeping in the house. About midnight, however, the defendant took advantage of the occasion and cornmitted the alleged offence, prosecutrix discovering that no wornan was in the house. She remained in bed all day in consequence of" pain," and defendant took her up tea to drink; subsequently, as he expected his wife's return, bundling her neck and crop out of doors, as she declined to go, notwithstanding defendant's threat to murder her if she divulged his misconduct—a threat he adopted also when coercing her on the night of the alleged offence.—Mr Maw, for the defendant, did not address himself to the disproof of the woman's story, but confined himself entirely to an exposure of her character, which was one of a systematically infamous and revolting kind. Hard pressed by Bench and counsel, she oonfessed she had been tried and acquitted for alleged child murder at Marske-by-the-Sea, and that she had been several times before the Bench at Darlington, where she preferred indeoent accusations against Superintendent Rogers and certain subordinates. She had been divorced from her husband, a London policeman; and this, she answered, was not the first time she had preferred a charge of indecency towards herself. She subsequently tried to father a child upon a man named Picket at Newcastle, with whom, she said, she lived some years; afterwards she attempted to establish the paternity upon a Middlesbrough man named Nicholson. The Darlington Bench, however, declined to ' make an order for the illegitimate child berouse of proesioutrix's bad character. She I afterwards preferred a charge of criminal assault agajnid a Sunderland man, and afterwards against a man at Yarm. After that she lived as housekeeper to an old gentleman , named Ransom, at Darlington, and , there she repeated her nefarious practices, which she resorted to again in the case of a man named Smurthwaite. She has been before the Darlington Bench this year for foul language, and had made her infamous impeachments against two men named Thomas Stoddart and John Wright, asking for a sum of £5 in the first case, Mr J. T. Proud, solicitor, mentioning that the prisoner had been to him to write a letter in the latter case.—The Bench said they were of opinion that prosecntrix's evidence was not worth listening to. With such women as this one at large no man would be safe, and the defendant went out of Court with perfectly clean hands. Prosecutrix was an infamous woman, and she must leave that Court at once—the police, as she was inclined to be loquacious, rutting heront of doors.—She was, said the Rev. G. P. Wilkinson, the most infamous woman in the North of England, the Rev. E. A. Wilkinson pointing to the case as an instance of the necessity for a public prosecutor. The Court regretted that a case of extorting money by threats could not be brought against the woman, for any man so prosecuting would render a public service and add to his own credit.—Prosecutrix waited outside the Court, and interviewed Mr Wilkinson as he was entering his carriage.