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Man Who Stole Precious 350-Year-Old Map Jailed After Judge's Scathing Verdict
Judge Charlotte Welsh said the atlas’s damage permanently diminished its historical value, and West also received a 10-year Criminal Behaviour Order.
- On Thursday, Woolwich Crown Court sentenced Melvin West to three years in prison for stealing a rare 17th-century map from the National Maritime Museum's Caird Library in Greenwich.
- West used a Stanley knife to slice the Nova Orbis Tabula from a 1684 atlas by Dutch cartographer Frederick de Wit, an act Judge Welsh described as 'untold damage to a historical artefact.'
- Judge Charlotte Welsh rejected West's delay requests, citing his 27 convictions for 107 offenses including 41 thefts, and stated she did 'not believe a word of it' regarding his promises.
- Prosecutors noted the atlas's value plummeted from around £50,000 to £20,000, while the museum said the loss 'undermines its bibliographical integrity' and prompted costly security upgrades.
- A 10-year Criminal Behaviour Order bars West from unsupervised museum reading rooms; the map remains missing despite Detective Constable Sophie Hayes of the Met's Art and Antiques Unit appealing for public assistance.
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11 Articles
11 Articles
The IndependentReposted by 
The Independent (US)
The Independent (US)Career criminal jailed for stealing 350-year-old map from National Maritime Museum
Melvin West, 70, still refuses to reveal the map’s whereabouts
·London, United Kingdom
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Total News Sources11
Leaning Left3Leaning Right2Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution45% Center
Bias Distribution
- 45% of the sources are Center
45% Center
L 33%
C 45%
R 22%
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