Jane Beck, aged 53, of Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, has been sentenced to 144 days’ imprisonment at Stranraer Sheriff Court after being convicted of sexually assaulting two female volunteers at a church drop-in centre and exposing genitals on a video conference call.
The offences took place between 2021 and 2022 while Beck was working as a kitchen volunteer at the Fed Up drop-in centre, operating out of Stranraer Baptist Church.
Fiscal depute Imran Hussein outlined the details of the offending to the court, stating that Beck grabbed the arm of the first victim and placed a hand onto her waist.
The court heard that on multiple occasions, Beck deliberately slid against the back of the woman while walking past her in the kitchen area.
Mr Hussein stated: “It was deliberate, sexually motivated and the complainer developed a genuine fear of the accused.”
When challenged, Beck dismissed the physical violations as “just a wee bit of Strictly.”
A second female volunteer subsequently approached Police Scotland to report that Beck had touched her back and buttocks without consent, resulting in Beck’s arrest in July 2022.
The court also considered an offence of indecent exposure committed during an employment video call for Avon between October and December 2021.
The prosecution demonstrated that Beck attended remote video calls wearing a loosely tied dressing gown with no clothing underneath, exposing a penis to colleagues despite having received explicit prior warnings regarding appropriate dress.
Rejecting defence submissions that the incident was merely careless, Sheriff Anthony McGlennan noted that the behaviour could not be characterized as an accident.
Beck, originally from Leeds and formerly known as Graeme Beck, possesses a substantial history of sexual offending.
In 2008, Beck was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and issued with a court order after sexually attacking a sleeping woman whom Beck had met via an online Christian dating website.
In November 2022, Beck was convicted of another sexual assault committed in Dumfriesshire in July 2021, where Beck lunged at a 47-year-old woman’s breasts, resulting in a five-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order prohibiting unsupervised contact with children or entering relationships without supervisory approval.
Passing sentence, Sheriff McGlennan said: “I’ve considered carefully the submissions and the fact you are subject to a community payback order. Nevertheless these offences are serious and your record of offences includes a sexual offence in 2008. To deter you from further offending only imprisonment is appropriate.”
The court imposed an immediate custodial sentence of 144 days.
Beck was also made subject to non-harassment orders barring any contact with the victims for three years, a three-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order, and ordered to comply with the statutory notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register for seven years.
Release Calculation: Under Scottish sentencing legislation governing short determinate sentences under six months, statutory release occurs at the halfway stage. Beck will serve one-half (72 days) of the 144-day sentence in prison custody before release into the community.
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