The Kenilworth Advertiser. — 1873-02-27 (Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England)

EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL.  Vnten  custody deposed  Rather late on Sunday evening, September Ist, of last year, a young German, named Haver., was promenading in the Bois de Boulogne, at Lille, with a young lady named Kind, to whom, in about a fortnight from that time, he was engaged to be married. Suddenly they were pounced upon by three men, who stated that they were police agents, and accusing the young people of an offence against public morality, seized upon Haver with a declaration that they would place him in custody. Three other pretended policemen endeavoured to seduce lila Knee, but she resisted desperately, screaming for help, and eventually escaped. Arrived at home in a state of extreme terror, the young woman reported what had oc°lured, 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 unfortunate young man was discovered. He had been strangled, and then thrown into the water. Search was immediately instituted for the murderers, and the result was the disclosure of the fact that, for the last four years, a band of ruffians—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 seized upon persons walking in lonely places, made these abominable charges, their accomplices came up and swore to the truth of these charges, and then, seizing their victims, they hurried them in oppoidte directions, and inflicted upon them every species the  most infamous treatment. In this way they had terrified, assaulted, and robbed men and outraged women by hundreds, and had escaped punishment through the unwillingnessof 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 named and ages of the accused were as follows :—Butin,; C Cnve der, 29; Marches, 30 ; Bass 6, 36 ; Leleu, 31; onard, 24; Muller, 35' Domizoy, 17 Delavoye, 18. Of these, Paul Buse was in the octid service, Butin was professor of gymnastics, while the others were work- - men, employed for the most part in the factories. it became known that the prisoners were in - a large number of persons came forward, and _ d to acts of violence which they suffered; but it Was known that still Large numbers of 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 trial which has just taken place was with closed doors, but it is known that several of the witnesses identified the prisoners as the persons who attacked them, Cuvelier and Butin 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 made 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 Friday, when the cam was drawing to a close, and when the accumulated evidence left no chance of escape, every man broke down. They were all bowed, with their faces buried in their hands; and bursting at intervals into tears, their sobs (says the reporter) interrapted the peaches of counsel. Public indignation against them ran high, espeddlly when Mdlle. Sneuf had 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 .bably for that reason the crime of murdering M. : vez appears not to have been brought home to them. On Saturday night the Court pronounced judgment. sentencing Cuvelier and Butin to twenty years' hard labour, Leleu and Merches to eight years' hard labour, Muffler to five years' hard labour, Bass 6 to eight and Conard to five years' imprisonment, Delavoye to eighteen months' imprisonment; while Dominoy WAS acquitted.