A Doctor on Trial: The Seduction Charge That Moved to Superior Court
Dr. M. H. Cochran of Hoquiam is bound over after a two-day hearing in Aberdeen, with $500 bail and a defense team from Grays Harbor.
Dr. M. H. Cochran, of Hoquiam, was arrested on Monday, charged with the seduction of Miss Katie Mihlhoffer. He had a trial Tuesday and Wednesday before Justice Arnold of Aberdeen, and was bound over to the superior court, with bonds fixed at $500. J. U. Cowden and W. W. Hodgdon of Hoquiam appeared for the defense, and the prosecuting attorney appeared for the state.
“He had a trial Tuesday and Wednesday before Justice Arnold of Aberdeen, and was bound over to the superior court, with bonds fixed at $500.”
The case is a reminder that small-town courts have long been the stage where private sexual misconduct becomes public record. In 1893, a seduction charge could hinge on promises, reputation, and the credibility of a young woman against a professional man. Today such allegations are still weighed in courthouses, though with victim-advocacy and confidentiality rules the era's press did not provide.
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