A Cambridge University graduate whom police have nicknamed the “Tome Raider” was sentenced to four years in prison May 2 in the theft of more than 400 rare antiquarian books and pamphlets worth £1.1 million ($1.6 million) from the British Library, Cambridge University Library, and London Library between 1994 and 1999.
William Jacques was convicted of 19 counts of theft last year and pleaded guilty to two additional counts April 29. A separate hearing on compensation to the libraries was set for May 23, the Associated Press reported May 2.
Jacques was first arrested in 1999 after booksellers and auction houses noticed identification marks had been removed from some of the materials he put up for sale. However, shortly after being questioned by police, Jacques fled to Cuba, leaving a note that revealed the locations of safe-deposit boxes where he had stored more of the stolen materials. Six weeks later he voluntarily returned to Britain, according to the April 30 London Times.
Among the recovered books were two copies of Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica and 17th-century editions of works by Descartes, Kepler, and Galileo. Many books suffered irreparable damage, and others still have not been retrieved. “He has effectively plundered these historic collections in our principal libraries,” said prosecuting attorney Karim Khalil.
Ian DuQuesnay, who tutored Jacques at Jesus College, said, “What he did is equivalent to daubing paint on the Parthenon.”
Posted May 6, 2002.