PREYING ON WOMEN.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10819, 9 December 1902, Page 6

PREYING ON WOMEN.

j Stories of how credulous domestic servants "part with their savings to swindlers crop up day after day. ■ sitting at ' the .South London sessions lately Mr McCounpll, K.C., dealt with- William West, 35, 'plumber, who pleaded guilty to obtaining several sums of money,- amounting to .£63, from Ellen Gillett, a domestic servant. , Some ..time in -MajMjjTv-Juno ii o f. 19.Q0,- prisoner made the acquaintance of prosecutrix .in Lcwisham^Jloiid. He described himself • as^an «lefc(^ical employment, a^d the couple kept company. In their evening .raniblps West proposed mar- ' riage, tb wTiich MSss "Gillett consented. After that time hp spoke in great detail of a liouse*l}6 sdid he 'h^'d. taken as "their home"', ."ofcithe beautiful furniture, he was supposeit^t©' haft pufchased ; of an 1 expenaive pianoforte Ih4 liAd»?esl6etcd: and other • matters. By'..v*lioufr esouses—^thafc he could not get his" 'money out of a club, for instance— he '.Various amounts' from Miss Gillette Shct-had, by carefully saving for"/ abbniij> 1.5 years, amassed same i! 66. •PjiaojleTpersnadicdiher' to part with £63 in/all, .and £tt .leayp h.er sit.uation and prepare fo?^th«}y-'inarriage, a% St. Peter's? Church, Kingslalfd: ' When the, appointed, jfime amvadr W\esftrsent aielegram. "Sorry, cannot comq," and (disappeared altogether. He was not seen again until last month, when the police were able to lay handi{ .on hrm.r"; "?"'•&,; • < D'etective--Sergelm't Spencer said that at the time he .was "deceiving prosecutris with his fabricated stories he was going , out w s ith. anojthgr^p^ostic. In Jaci^ sq|ne of Miss Gillett's money was spen'f in entertaining her. When % arrestfd West was koepiag cofflpany^tutli a third servant, ana yfaa. livin&^yjteliv'.a "fouxtli. v <Nothins; furthbr could fcjfc .pertained " as 'to his career^ ' ' ■ - ■ His Lordship said it >vas ol'oar that W«6t had been deceiving and swindling 'women for a long time., He would be imprisoned for nine months with 'hard labour.