THE EVENING DESPATCH

Birmingham, Warwickshire, England

25 July 1934

(page 11)

CROWLEY GUILTY

Bound Over in “Betty May”

Letters Case

Edward Alexander Crowley, aged 58, described as an explorer, was found guilty at the Old Bailey to-day of receiving four original letters and one copy, said to have been stolen from Mrs. Betty Sedgwick, professionally known as “Betty May,” an artist’s model. Of Hampstead.

He was bound over for two years and ordered to pay a sum not exceeding 50 guineas towards the costs.

Mr. Melford Stevenson (prosecuting) said that the letters disappeared from Mrs. Sedgwick’s attaché case and were later produced during the hearing of a libel action in the High Court in which Crowley was the plaintiff.

The letters referred to the payment of certain expenses by a firm of solicitors to Mrs. Sedgwick, who was a witness for the defence in the action, and she was cross-examined on them.

Mrs. Sedgwick was questioned at length yesterday by Mr. C. Gallop (defending) about a book she had written called “Tiger Woman. My Story, by Betty May.”

She said that parts of the book were untrue, but the passages about Crowley and an Abbey [Abbey of Thelema] were correct.

Judge Whiteley, summing up to-day, said that Crowley had not been previously charged with any criminal offence at all. “So far as that is concerned, he comes into this court with a good character,” he added.