Now! Then! The lawyer of Thomas Higginbottom, a Dewsbury baker, tells magistrates that his client’s previous conviction for sexual assault should not count against him

28 February 1867: The lawyer of Thomas Higginbottom, a Dewsbury baker, tells magistrates that his client’s previous conviction for sexual assault should not count against him

Leeds Mercury. 1867/03/02. Indecent Conduct of a Dewsbury Tradesman. Leeds. Get it:

Excerpt

On Thursday, at the Borough Court, Dewsbury, Thomas Higginbottom, baker and eating-house keeper, of that town, was charged with indecently assaulting a young woman named Nelson on the previous day. He was defended by Mr Ibberson, and pleaded not guilty. The bench found the prisoner guilty, and then were informed that about three weeks ago he had been convicted in that court of indecently assaulting a woman in a railway carriage. Mr Ibberson said that ought not to weigh against him, for she had that morning been convicted as a prostitute. [£5 (£460 in May 2023) or two months.]

Order the book

Subscribe to the free daily email

To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Abbreviations

Comment

Something to say? Get in touch

Original

INDECENT CONDUCT OF A DEWSBURY TRADESMAN.-On Thursday, at the Borough Court, Dewsbury, Thos. Higginbottom, baker and eating-house keeper, of that town, was charged with indecently assaulting a young woman named Nelson on the previous day. He was defended by Mr. Ibberson, and pleaded not guilty. The bench found the prisoner guilty, and then were informed that about three weeks ago he had been convicted in that court of indecently assaulting a woman in a railway carriage. Mr. Ibberson said that ought not to weigh against him, for she had that morning been convicted as a prostitute. The magistrates fined Higginbottom £5, with the alternative of two months’ imprisonment.

110 words.