Dentist Faces Trial for Assault of Young Girls
A Seattle dentist stands trial on serious criminal charges involving minors, amid accusations of a conspiracy to extort money.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The trial of Frank Van Waters, a dentist accused of criminally assaulting 10-year-old Irene Brown and Myrtle Halloran, began before a jury in the Superior Court in Seattle on Thursday morning. The state examined two witnesses during the afternoon, both of whom gave damaging testimony against the defendant. The Brown and Halloran girls testified to the facts alleged in the information, and a severe cross-examination failed to discredit their testimony. It developed during the cross-examination that the defendant will attempt to prove that the parents of the Halloran child conspired to have her accuse Van Waters of the crime in the hope of extorting money from him. Under the laws of this state, Van Waters can, if convicted, be sentenced to any term of years in the penitentiary up to life.
“Under the laws of this state Van Waters can, if convicted, be sentenced to any term of years in the penitentiary up to life.”
This case highlights the gravity of child welfare litigation in early 20th-century Washington courts. It is a sobering example of how historical legal reporting often navigated the intersections of criminal accountability and complex defensive strategies like allegations of extortion.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.